The god Subrahmanya, the god of war.
Painting
ca. 1820 - ca. 1825 (painted)
ca. 1820 - ca. 1825 (painted)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The pictures made by Indian artists for the British in India are called Company paintings. This example is from a collection of 100 such paintings. They show Hindu deities and their vehicles, the Guardians of the Quarters, the avataras (incarnations) of Vishnu, and the story of Krishna. The subject matter is unusual one for Company Paintings, which generally showed more popular themes such as occupations and costume. An Englishman with scholarly interests must have commissioned this one.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The god Subrahmanya, the god of war. |
| Materials and techniques | Opaque watercolour on watermarked paper |
| Brief description | Painting; gouache on watermarked paper, The god Subrahmanya, the god of war, Trichinopoly, ca. 1825. |
| Physical description | The god of war (Subrahmanya) in his form as the lance-bearer (Mailerivelan) mounted on a peacock with his two shaktis, Valli and Devasena. The god is pink-skinned, four-armed, holding two wavy swords and displaying abhaya and vara hastas (symbolic hand positions). Beside him are two female figures. They are enthroned on the back of a peacock, who stands on the body of a cobra and holds another in his beak. Overarching the deities is a ring of flames. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Object history | Purchased from Mr A. Churchill, 1923. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The pictures made by Indian artists for the British in India are called Company paintings. This example is from a collection of 100 such paintings. They show Hindu deities and their vehicles, the Guardians of the Quarters, the avataras (incarnations) of Vishnu, and the story of Krishna. The subject matter is unusual one for Company Paintings, which generally showed more popular themes such as occupations and costume. An Englishman with scholarly interests must have commissioned this one. |
| Bibliographic reference | Archer, Mildred. Company Paintings Indian Paintings of the British period
Victoria and Albert Museum Indian Series London: Victoria and Albert Museum, Maplin Publishing, 1992 25 p. ISBN 0944142303 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IM.360-1923 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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