Durga confronting the Demon Mahisha in the form of an Elephant, folio from a dispersed Devi Mahatmya series
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The devotional text of the Devi Mahatmya culminates with the death of the demon Mahisha at the hands of the goddess Durga. Late in the battle, Mahisha takes the form of a man, but Durga cuts him to shreds with arrows and breaks his sword and shield. At this point the demon transforms into the elephant seen here. An inscription on the back of the work clearly identifies this rarely depicted moment in the epic conflict between good and evil. The distinctive treatment of Durga and especially her tiger suggests this painting was created by an artist known as the Mankot Master who produced an important early corpus of work in the tiny kingdom, not far from the Basohli court.
Artwork Details
- Title: Durga confronting the Demon Mahisha in the form of an Elephant, folio from a dispersed Devi Mahatmya series
- Artist: Master at the Court of Mankot (active ca. 1680–1730)
- Date: 1680–1730
- Culture: India, Punjab Hills, kingdom of Mankot
- Medium: Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 5 3/4 × 9 in. (14.6 × 22.9 cm)
Sheet: 6 3/4 × 10 1/8 in. (17.1 × 25.7 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Lent by Steven Kossak, The Kronos Collections
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art