Not currently on display at the V&A

Narasimha

Painting
ca. 1830 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Painting, in opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper, Narasimha, the half man-half lion incarnation of Vishnu, kills the demon king Hiranyakasipu. The figure of Narasimha always has four arms and has a stylised depiction of a lion's head and neck. Hiranyakashipu is painted in green to show his demonic attributes. Personal adornments of necklaces, hair and ear ornaments are painted in tin alloy.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleNarasimha (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper
Brief description
Painting, Vishnu as Narasimha avatar, opaque watercolour on paper, Kalighat, Kolkata, ca. 1830
Physical description
Painting, in opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper, Narasimha, the half man-half lion incarnation of Vishnu, kills the demon king Hiranyakasipu. The figure of Narasimha always has four arms and has a stylised depiction of a lion's head and neck. Hiranyakashipu is painted in green to show his demonic attributes. Personal adornments of necklaces, hair and ear ornaments are painted in tin alloy.
Dimensions
  • Height: 407mm (maximum)
  • Width: 280mm
31/07/13 dimensions measured as part of Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project 2013; object irregular in shape
Content description
Narasimha, the half man-half lion incarnation of Vishnu, kills the demon king Hiranyakasipu. The figure of Narasimha always has four arms and has a stylised depiction of a lion's head and neck. Hiranyakashipu is painted in green to show his demonic attributes. Personal adornments of necklaces, hair and ear ornaments are painted in tin alloy.
Style
Production
The dating follows W.G Archer's 1971 catalogue of the V&A's collection of Kalighat paintings. Calcutta is referred to in the 21st century as Kolkata.
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic reference
Archer, W.G., Kalighat Paintings, London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1971, P44, 45
Collection
Accession number
IS.196-1950

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest