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Shiva as Mahayogi

Drawing
ca. 1865 - ca. 1870 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Kolkata (made)

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
Paintings
Hinduism
Religion
Bonita Trust Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project
Object type
Drawing
TitleShiva as Mahayogi (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper
Opaque Watercolour
Paper
Paint
Tin Alloy
Painted
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
  • Height: 444mm (maximum)
  • Width: 280mm (maximum)
31/07/13 dimensions measured as part of Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project 2013; object irregular in shape
Content description
Mahayogi is shown seated cross-legged on the ground with a cobra around his neck and another on his turban.
Style
Kalighat
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
Cobra
Deity
Tiger-Skin
Huqqa
Shiva
Bibliographic reference
Archer, W.G (1973) Kalighat Painting, HMSO, London, p54, fig 19.
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
IS.240-1953

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Record createdDecember 5, 2002
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O71565/shiva-as-mahayogi-drawing-unknown/
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