A painting from a Dashavatara series: Kalki

INDIA, MANDI, CIRCA 1820-30

Details

A painting from a Dashavatara series: Kalki
India, Mandi, circa 1820-30
The tenth avatar of Vishnu seated upon a low throne, wearing yellow robes and chain mail and carrying a shield and sword, facing an elegantly caparisoned white winged horse, surrounded by flowering and cypress trees and grass, with blue and gold borders and pink speckled margins, with an extensive inscription and collector's stamp on verso
Opaque pigments and gold on paper
6 3/8 x 8 3/8 in. (16.3 x 21.2 cm.), image
9 5/8 x 11 7/8 in. (24.5 x 30 cm.), folio

Provenance

Royal Mandi Collection, inv. no. 1293
Private collection, London, acquired in 2007

Lot Essay

Kalki (meaning "Eternity," "White Horse," or "Destroyer of Filth"), is the final incarnation of Vishnu and will appear atop a white horse with his sword drawn and blazing like a comet. He is the harbinger of the end of our current period, the Kali Yuga ("black" or "wicked epoch"), and will destroy all unrighteousness and evil to usher in the Satya Yuga ("truth epoch" or "golden age"). In the present painting, he and his steed wait patiently until their time to ride comes, ready to deliver mankind with benevolence.

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