A chromolithograph diptych published by the Calcutta Art Studio around 1885 to 1895, the first of a set of five sheets depicting the Ten Mahavidyas, the tantric wisdom-goddesses of Shakta Hinduism, two goddesses to a sheet, each labelled in Bengali and English. The left field shows the youthful Kali standing astride two aspects of Shiva, one corpse-like and the other engaged with the goddess in a scene reading as the union of consciousness and energy; the right field shows Tara, associated with the destructive and purifying power of fire, one of the more fearsome Mahavidyas. The series is a landmark of the new lithographic presses that transformed Hindu devotional print culture in colonial Calcutta, later the subject of dedicated museum exhibitions including the Met's "Household Gods: Hindu Devotional Prints, 1860-1930" and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's own showing of the same set.
Facts
Custody
Current LocationThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 2 Current CustodianThe Metropolitan Museum of Art 2 Subject Matter
Depicted SubjectKali (left field) and Tara (right field), two of the Ten Mahavidyas, each with associated forms of Shiva. 2 Rights and Reproduction
Reproduction and CopyrightThis atlas describes and cites the print rather than reproducing an image of it. 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Bengali directly: "goddesses to a sheet, each labelled in Bengali and English."
Kali, Deities This source names Kali directly: "The left field shows the youthful Kali standing astride two aspects of Shiva, one corpse-like and the other engaged with the goddess in a scene reading as the union of consciousness and energy; the..."
Kali, Figures This source names Kali directly: "The left field shows the youthful Kali standing astride two aspects of Shiva, one corpse-like and the other engaged with the goddess in a scene reading as the union of consciousness and energy; the..."
Tara, Deities This source names Tara directly: "and energy; the right field shows Tara, associated with the destructive and purifying power of fire, one of the more fearsome Mahavidyas."
Depicts
Sources
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.