Shiva as Mahayogi
Drawing
ca. 1865 - ca. 1870 (made)
ca. 1865 - ca. 1870 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Painting, in opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper, depicting Shiva as the great ascetic Mahayogi is shown seated cross-legged on the ground with a cobra around his neck and another on his turban. He is wearing a necklace of tiny silver detail (executed in tin alloy) and a tiger-skin dhoti, and holds a huqqa in his right hand.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Shiva as Mahayogi (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Painted in opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper |
| Brief description | Painting, Shiva as Mahayogi, opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper, Kalighat. Kolkata, ca. 1865-1870 |
| Physical description | Painting, in opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper, depicting Shiva as the great ascetic Mahayogi is shown seated cross-legged on the ground with a cobra around his neck and another on his turban. He is wearing a necklace of tiny silver detail (executed in tin alloy) and a tiger-skin dhoti, and holds a huqqa in his right hand. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | Mahayogi is shown seated cross-legged on the ground with a cobra around his neck and another on his turban. |
| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | |
| Gallery label | From the 1820s to the 1930s a new style of painting characterised by its simple bold brush strokes became the most important form of popular art in Calcutta. The temple of Kali at Kalighat attracted hundreds of pilgrims daily. Local artisans painted images of Hindu deities to sell to these pilgrims as cheap souvenirs. These became known as Kalighat paintings. This image shows the Hindu god Shiva with his characteristic tiger skin, cobras and matted hair. |
| Credit line | Given by the University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge, to which the series was presented by Mrs. Western of Langbrookside, Havant, Hampshire |
| Object history | Historical significance: Calcutta was the capital of British India from 1833-1912. By the 1830s, artists had arrived from rural villages in Bengal and began to produce paintings that reflected local history, mythology, customs and conflicts of a colonised society. As a popular art form, these artists are recognised for their use of brilliant colour, simplified images and swift brushstrokes that became the hallmark of Kalighat painting in the 19th and early 20th century. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Bibliographic reference | Archer, W.G (1973) Kalighat Painting, HMSO, London, p54, fig 19. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.240-1953 |
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| Record created | December 5, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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