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AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A DEVI MAHATMYA SERIES: DEVI VANQUISHING THE DEMON GAJA ASURA KULU, 1720-50 image 1
AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A DEVI MAHATMYA SERIES: DEVI VANQUISHING THE DEMON GAJA ASURA KULU, 1720-50 image 2
Lot 3099

AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A DEVI MAHATMYA SERIES:
DEVI VANQUISHING THE DEMON GAJA ASURA
KULU, 1720-50

Amended
19 March 2018, 15:00 EDT
New York

Sold for US$25,000 inc. premium

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AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A DEVI MAHATMYA SERIES:
DEVI VANQUISHING THE DEMON GAJA ASURA

KULU, 1720-50
Opaque watercolor on paper;
Verso inscribed:
Tham gadga charmana saardham thatha so aboon maha gaja, 30; "Afterwards the Goddess cut the head of the man with a sword and shield by using swift arrows. Then from that man he became a huge elephant".
Image: 5 3/4 x 9 in. (13 x 22.8 cm);
Folio: 6 3/4 x 10 1/8 in. (15.5 x 25.9 cm)

Footnotes

This superb and dynamic composition depicts Durga with relentless power. As if leaping from beyond the border onto the page astride her tiger, she slays the demon. In the face of his new elephant form emerging, the Goddess retains her unflinching poise, brandishing her weapons ready to deliver her ultimate blow to the final emanation.

The folio depicts the crescendo of the famous Durga Mahishasura narrative wherein the great demon, having taken many forms such as a buffalo, lion, and man, finally appears as an elephant and is rendered asunder by the Great Goddess – a task that no other deity could prospect. For a related page see Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, Vol. II, London, 1973, p.253, no.29

Provenance
Sotheby's, London, 20 July 1977, lot 150
Galerie Marco Polo, Paris
Collection of Françoise et Claude Bourelier
Art Curial, Paris, 4 November 2014, lot 216

Saleroom notices

Please note this painting is also published in Shastri et al., Hymnes à la Déesse, Paris, 1980, plate 9.

Additional information

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