A Painting of The Great Goddess as Indrani, Venerated by the God Indra, Pahari; Panjab Hills, Circa 1800

Pahari; Panjab Hills, circa 1800

Probably from a Tantric Devi series. Opaque pigments and gold on paper, depicting the Great Goddess (Devi) sitting on a bejeweled golden throne under a canopy. Her body is studded with small golden eyes, and in her raised right hand she wields the multi-pronged thunderbolt (vajra), weapon of the storm god Indra. Below, Indra stands in supplication, palms joined and gaze lifted toward her, a vajra tucked under his arm. The inner margins with gilt highlighted foliate scrolls on a dark blue ground, the outer margins with red flecks.
Note:
From early religious literature, Indra is described as Sahasranetra, the thousand-eyed one; here, however, his defining attribute of eyes and weapon are shared with the Goddess, marking this as a Shakta (Tantric) vision in which she embodies and surpasses his power. The painting is not a portrait of Indra’s wife but rather of the supreme Goddess enthroned as Indrani, exalted by Indra himself. Its delicate detail and pastel palette characterize paintings from workshops in the Pahari region, the Himalayan foothills of India, during the late 18th and 19th century.

Painting 7 1/2 x 5 1/8 in., 19.05 x 13 cm; folio 10 x 7 1/4 in., 25.4 x 18.4 cm.

Property from the Collection of Edwin Hardy, San Francisco, California.

This lot is located in New York.

Provenance:

Property from the Collection of Edwin Hardy, San Francisco, California.

來源：

加州舊金山Edwin Hardy先生藏。

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Ms. Wu joined the firm in 2014, after working as a specialist in the Asian Works of Art Department of an East Coast auction house. She researches, appraises, and sells Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and South East Asian works of art, including jades, bronzes, ceramics, paintings, armor, and furniture. Throughout her career, Ms. Wu has achieved record prices for several prominent estates and collections, including the Estate of Frank G. Mertes, Sr., Winona, Minnesota; the Chinese Painting Collection of Ms. Yuan Jiaying and Mr. Li Guoyuan, Chicago; the Estate of Hisazo Nagatani, Chicago, and the Asian Art Collection deaccessioned from the Strong Museum of Play, Rochester, New York.

Asian Works of Art

A Painting of The Great Goddess as Indrani, Venerated by the God Indra, Pahari; Panjab Hills, Circa 1800

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