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Lot Essay
This powerful and austere scene represents the manifest power of the Great Goddess, Devi. The assembled gods, their faces etched with anxiety, bear visible witness to the gravity of the moment. Their intent gazes convey both apprehension and hope as they summon a force beyond their own capacities. Devi manifests here as Durga, brought into being through the combined energies of the gods after their repeated failures, over countless eons of battle, to vanquish the demon Mahisha. The intensity of the divine expressions underscores the enormity of the threat and the extraordinary nature of Durga’s creation, marking this moment as a turning point in the cosmic struggle between order and chaos.
Another page from this series, attributed to the Guler workshop and dated circa 1810–1820, depicting The Creation of Durga, numbered '81' in the border and '51' on the cover sheet, is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1978.540.3). An earlier version of this subject is held in the Art Gallery of New South Wales (99.2021); see J. Masselos, Divine and Courtly Life in Indian Painting, 1991, cat. no. 11.2.
For related pages from this celebrated series, see J. Bautze, Lotosmond und Löwenritt, 1991, nos. 15–18; and F. S. Aijazuddin, Pahari Paintings and Sikh Portraits, 1977, pl. 41 (I–XXXIV), pp. 41–52. Additional examples have appeared at Sotheby’s, New York, 14 December, 1979, lots 229 and 230, and Sotheby’s, London, 24 April, 1979, lots 141 and 142. A closely related composition from the same series was sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 21 March, 2012, lot 213.
Another page from this series, attributed to the Guler workshop and dated circa 1810–1820, depicting The Creation of Durga, numbered '81' in the border and '51' on the cover sheet, is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1978.540.3). An earlier version of this subject is held in the Art Gallery of New South Wales (99.2021); see J. Masselos, Divine and Courtly Life in Indian Painting, 1991, cat. no. 11.2.
For related pages from this celebrated series, see J. Bautze, Lotosmond und Löwenritt, 1991, nos. 15–18; and F. S. Aijazuddin, Pahari Paintings and Sikh Portraits, 1977, pl. 41 (I–XXXIV), pp. 41–52. Additional examples have appeared at Sotheby’s, New York, 14 December, 1979, lots 229 and 230, and Sotheby’s, London, 24 April, 1979, lots 141 and 142. A closely related composition from the same series was sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 21 March, 2012, lot 213.