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Not currently on display at the V&A

Vamana and Bali

Painting
ca. 1850 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Painting, in watercolour on paper, with tin alloy details, Bamana (Vamana) the fifth incarnation of Vishnu has been depicted here as three legged and four armed with one of his feet placed on the head of Bali, the demon king of heaven and earth. According to the mythology Bali granted Bamana, the dwarf, three feet of land. Bamana soon covered the heaven with one of his feet and the earth with his second. Bamana then asked Bali as to where should he place his third foot. Bali being a Vishnu devotee requested Bamana to place the third foot on his own head. Bali has been depicted as draped in the period garments and head gear of a well-to-do gentleman of Calcutta and has Vaishnavaite markings on his forehead. One of Bamana's legs is pointing upwards indicating heaven and one leg is placed on the earth. Bamana is shown here with white wide eyes. In his four hands Bamana is supposed to be holding the attributes of Vishnu. Bamana is wearing a short dhoti and has a cape over his shoulder. The stock-in-trade ornaments adorning Vishnu were painted in white paint.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleVamana and Bali (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in watercolour on paper, with tin alloy details
Brief description
Painting, Vamana quelling Bali, watercolour and tin alloy on paper, Kalighat, Kolkata, ca. 1850
Physical description
Painting, in watercolour on paper, with tin alloy details, Bamana (Vamana) the fifth incarnation of Vishnu has been depicted here as three legged and four armed with one of his feet placed on the head of Bali, the demon king of heaven and earth. According to the mythology Bali granted Bamana, the dwarf, three feet of land. Bamana soon covered the heaven with one of his feet and the earth with his second. Bamana then asked Bali as to where should he place his third foot. Bali being a Vishnu devotee requested Bamana to place the third foot on his own head. Bali has been depicted as draped in the period garments and head gear of a well-to-do gentleman of Calcutta and has Vaishnavaite markings on his forehead. One of Bamana's legs is pointing upwards indicating heaven and one leg is placed on the earth. Bamana is shown here with white wide eyes. In his four hands Bamana is supposed to be holding the attributes of Vishnu. Bamana is wearing a short dhoti and has a cape over his shoulder. The stock-in-trade ornaments adorning Vishnu were painted in white paint.
Dimensions
  • Height: 449mm (maximum)
  • Width: 274mm
31/07/13 dimensions measured as part of Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project 2013; object irregular in shape
Content description
Bamana, the fifth incarnation of Vishnu has been depicted here as three legged and four armed with one of his feet placed on the head of Bali, the demon king of heaven and earth.
Style
Object history
The painting was originally acquired from G. Wild, by the Department of Prints and Drawings in 1889.

RP 51/2237
Production
Kalighat painting
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic references
  • Archer, W.G., Bazaar Paintings of Calcutta, Victoria & Albert Museum, H.M.S.O., 1955 p. 18, no. 6,p. 21, p. 34, pl. 6
  • Kalighat paintings : a catalogue and introduction / by W.G. Archer. London: H. M. Stationery Office, 1971 Number: 0112900291 : Pl. no. 8, cat. no. 4, vi:p.48.
Collection
Accession number
D.657-1889

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Record createdJanuary 12, 2007
Record URL
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