The Goddess Bhadrakali Manifests in a Sunlike Orb

Currently not on view

The Goddess Bhadrakali Manifests in a Sunlike Orb

c. 1660-1670

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

The Great Goddess (Devi), worshiped across India, has many names and many forms. Here, Devi appears at the core of a gleaming golden sun that shines from a templelike frame. In the late seventeenth to early eighteenth century, painters from Himachal Pradesh sometimes pasted little pieces of the shell of iridescent beetles onto their paintings as additional ornamentation. This precious substance-combined with the lavish use of gold and bright, rare pigments-made these works luxury goods in their own right. This painting is the first page of a spectacular series that reveals the multiplicity of the Great Goddess through both words and images.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

The Goddess Bhadrakali Manifests in a Sunlike Orb
From a manuscript of the Tantric Devi, stories of the goddess Devi

Date:

c. 1660-1670

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

Medium:

Opaque watercolor, gold, silver-colored paint, and beetle-wing cases on paper

Dimensions:

Image: 7 11/16 × 7 1/4 inches (19.5 × 18.4 cm) Sheet: 8 3/4 × 8 7/16 inches (22.2 × 21.4 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

125th Anniversary Acquisition. Alvin O. Bellak Collection, 2004

Accession Number:

2004-149-22

Geography:

Made in Nurpur, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia or made in Basohli, Jammu and Kashmir, India, Asia

We are always open to learning more about our collections and updating the website. Does this record contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Contact us here.

Please note that this particular artwork might not be on view when you visit. Don’t worry—we have plenty of exhibitions for you to explore.

Currently not on view