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.