
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
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Sold for US$25,000 inc. premium
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International Director
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
Please note this painting is also published in Shastri et al., Hymnes à la Déesse, Paris, 1980, plate 9.