Shiva on Nandi thumbnail 1
Shiva on Nandi thumbnail 2
Not on display

Shiva on Nandi

Painting
ca. 1890 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Kolkata (made)

Painting, opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper, the Hindu God Shiva on his vehicle the bull Nandi. Lord Shiva has been shown here as portly, holding trishul (trident) in his right hand and a horn in his left. He has sleepy eyes indicating that he is under the influence of bhang (cannabis). A serpent is coiled round his hair and other serpents are coiled round his neck.

Object details

Categories
Paintings
Religion
Hinduism
Bonita Trust Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project
SCRAN
Object type
Painting
TitleShiva on Nandi (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Painted in watercolour and tin alloy on paper
Watercolour
Tin Alloy
Paint
Paper
Painted
Brief description
Painting, Shiva on the bull Nandi, opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper, Kalighat, Kolkata, ca. 1890
Physical description
Painting, opaque watercolour and tin alloy on paper, the Hindu God Shiva on his vehicle the bull Nandi. Lord Shiva has been shown here as portly, holding trishul (trident) in his right hand and a horn in his left. He has sleepy eyes indicating that he is under the influence of bhang (cannabis). A serpent is coiled round his hair and other serpents are coiled round his neck.
Dimensions
  • Height: 440mm (maximum)
  • Width: 281mm
  • Cardboard mount onto which object attached height: 474mm
  • Cardboard mount onto which object attached width: 310mm
15/05/2013 dimensions measured as part of Indian Paintings Cataloguing Project 2013; object irregular in shape.
Content description
Shiva on his vehicle the bull Nandi.
Style
Kalighat
Credit line
Given by Rudyard Kipling Esq., Bateman's, Burwash, Sussex
Object history
Part of an album, containing 196 prints, paintings and pen and pencil drawings together with 37 loose pages of paintings, calligraphic drawings, and outline pen drawings. The collection is mainly composed of native lithograph pictures sold at the local bazaars and fairs of Upper India and Bengal. The album was collected by late J Lockwood Kipling between the years 1865 and 1893. In 1875 he became Principal of the Mayo School of Art, Lahore and held this post until his retirement in 1893. The album was presented to the Museum by his son, Rudyard Kipling in 1917.

Given by Rudyard Kipling Esq., Bateman's, Burwash, Sussex. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project.

R.P. 1917-2627M, R.P. 1917-2705M
Subjects depicted
Bull
Deity
Shiva
Nandi
Bibliographic references
  • Kalighat paintings : a catalogue and introduction / by W.G. Archer. London: H. M. Stationery Office, 1971 Number: 0112900291 : fig. 75, cat. no. 32, iii: p.92.
  • Archer, W.G., Bazaar Paintings of Calcutta, Victoria & Albert Museum, H.M.S.O., 1955 p. 23, fig. 29
  • Bryant, Julius and Weber, Susan, John Lockwood Kipling: Arts and Crafts in the Punjab and London Newhaven: Yale University Press, 2017 p. 314, fig. 11.11
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
IM.2:190-1917

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Record createdJanuary 7, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O72642/shiva-on-nandi-painting-unknown/
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