Page 207 - Himalayan Art Macrh 19 2018 Bonhams

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AN ILLUSTRATION FROM A DEVI MAHATMYA SERIES: This superb and dynamic composition depicts Durga with relentless
DEVI VANQUISHING THE DEMON GAJA ASURA power. As if leaping from beyond the border onto the page astride
KULU, 1720-50 her tiger, she slays the demon. In the face of his new elephant form
Opaque watercolor on paper; emerging, the Goddess retains her unflinching poise, brandishing her
Verso inscribed: weapons ready to deliver her ultimate blow to the final emanation.
Tham gadga charmana saardham thatha so aboon maha gaja, 30;
“Afterwards the Goddess cut the head of the man with a sword and The folio depicts the crescendo of the famous Durga Mahishasura
shield by using swift arrows. Then from that man he became a huge narrative wherein the great demon, having taken many forms such as
elephant”. a buffalo, lion, and man, finally appears as an elephant and is rendered
Image: 5 3/4 x 9 in. (13 x 22.8 cm); asunder by the Great Goddess – a task that no other deity could
Folio: 6 3/4 x 10 1/8 in. (15.5 x 25.9 cm) prospect. For a related page see Archer, Indian Paintings from the
Punjab Hills, Vol. II, London, 1973, p.253, no.29

$20,000 - 30,000
Provenance
Sotheby’s, London, 20 July 1977, lot 150
Galerie Marco Polo, Paris
Collection of Françoise et Claude Bourelier
Art Curial, Paris, 4 November 2014, lot 216

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