Durga on tiger thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Durga on tiger

Relief
Late 18th century -early 19th Century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A low relief rectangular plaque carved in a naiive style shows the four armed goddess Durga in a full-frontal pose of her upper body while sitting astride a tiger which faces left with its front right paw raised. In her outsttretched hands the goddess holds a sword and perhaps a shield, bow and arrow. She wears a crown and has large almond-shaped eyed with brows that meet at a vertical third eye in her forehead. Traces of red paint (vermilion) remain on the surface of the plaque indicating that the object was used in worship. The tiger's stripes are represented by a number of irregular incised slashes.


Object details

Object type
TitleDurga on tiger (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Fine-grained calcareous sandstone carved in low relief.
Brief description
Relief plaque showing Durga on tiger, finegrained sandstone, 18th early 19th century, Kota.
Physical description
A low relief rectangular plaque carved in a naiive style shows the four armed goddess Durga in a full-frontal pose of her upper body while sitting astride a tiger which faces left with its front right paw raised. In her outsttretched hands the goddess holds a sword and perhaps a shield, bow and arrow. She wears a crown and has large almond-shaped eyed with brows that meet at a vertical third eye in her forehead. Traces of red paint (vermilion) remain on the surface of the plaque indicating that the object was used in worship. The tiger's stripes are represented by a number of irregular incised slashes.
Dimensions
  • Height: 4.5in
  • Width: 3.75in
  • Depth: 0.75in
Marks and inscriptions
An inscription on the reverse reads: "Taken from the 'Sacred Temple' in the Fortress of Kote, Kangra.. May 28 1846. F.G." ("There are few letters in Nagari script reading pamara (?)." Gauriswar Bhattacharya, 13 July 2006.)
Object history
Received from the Geological Survey & Museum. The inscription on the back of the carving is dated 1846 which was the year the British took over the District of Kangra at the end of the Ist Sikh war. The state had a long history association with the Rajput Katoch kings of Kangra. In 1785 the fort had been relinquished by a Sikh chieftain to Sansar Chand, the legitimate Rajput prince of Kangra, but he lost the fort to the Sikh ruler, Ranjit Singh in 1809. The relief may date to his reign. Kot Kangra, the fort occupied a site above the town built on high cliffs on three sides. The palace buildings and temples of the Katoch kings were all at its highest point. The fort with its temples and the town were badly damaged by an earthquake in 1905.
Collection
Accession number
IS.1-1962

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Record createdSeptember 5, 2002
Record URL
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