INDIA, UTTAR PRADESH, GUPTA PERIOD, 5TH CENTURY

Details

A Red Sandstone Stele of Durga
India, Uttar Pradesh, Gupta Period, 5th Century
Expressively carved with Durga fighting the Buffalo demon, grasping the buffalo with her principal hands and her remaining hands radiating around her
12 1/8 in. (30.7 cm.) high

Provenance

William H. Wolff, New York, acquired on 14 March 1972 ($2,500)

Literature

P. Pal, The Ideal Image, 1978, cat. no. 25, p. 77.
L. Larson et. al., In Her Image, 1980, cat. no. 42, p. 75.

Exhibited

New York, Asia House Gallery, The Ideal Image, 1978, cat. no. 25;
Santa Barbara, University of California Santa Barbara Art Museum; Bloomington, Indiana University Art Museum; Claremont, Montgomery Gallery; and Amarillo, Amarillo Art Center, In Her Image, 1980-81, cat. no. 42.

Lot Essay

While later depictions of Durga as Mahishasuramardini, the destroyer of the demon Mahisha, show her beheading the buffalo demon (compare lot 43), this early image shows her grasping the animal with her bare hands as if caressing it.

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