The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 25, 2023

Shiva and Devi on Gajasura's Hide

c. 1675–80

India, Pahari Hills, Basohli school, 17th century

Gum tempera and silver on paper

Image: 23.5 x 16.2 cm (9 1/4 x 6 3/8 in.); with mat: 35.5 x 25.4 cm (14 x 10 in.)

Edward L. Whittemore Fund 1952.587

Location

not on view

Description

These divine lovers embody the duality of opposites: male/female, yogi/princess, death/ birth, and destruction/creation. Their gazes are locked on each other, linking them in loving unity as they float on the skin of an elephant demon through swirling monsoon clouds above the earth.

The god Shiva looks like a yogi with matted locks of hair entwined with serpents, white skin smeared with ash from funeral pyres, the third eye of true knowledge, triple-line sectarian marks, a garland of severed heads, and the leopard-skin loincloth. In three hands he holds emblems of destruction: skull cup, sword, and a drum that beats the rhythm of time. His fourth hand rests tenderly on the shoulder of his wife, the goddess Devi, also known as Parvati, who perches on his lap, her hands in a gesture of honor.

Provenance
?–1952
(Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1952–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Lee, Sherman E. "A Rajput Miniature from Basohli." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 40, no. 3 (1953): 50–51. Mentioned: pp. 50–51; Reproduced: p. 46 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 772 archive.org
Sickman, L. C. S. Masterpieces of Asian Art in American Collections. New York: Asia Society, 1960. Mentioned: cat. no. 31c, p. 64
Lee, Sherman E. and George Montgomery. Rajput Painting; with an introductory essay and catalogue notes. New York: Asia House, 1960. Reproduced: p. 61; plate 58
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 239 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 238 archive.org
Dwivedi, Vinod P. "A Rasamanjari Painting from Basohli." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 56, no. 7 (1969): 262–268. Reproduced: fig. 4, p. 266 www.jstor.org
Archer, W. G. Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills; A Survey and History of Pahari Miniature Painting. London: Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1973. Mentioned and Reproduced: vol. 1, p. 41; vol. 2, p. 25, no. 7
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 307 archive.org
Kramrisch, Stella. Manifestations of Shiva. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1981. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. P-26, pp. 188–189
Heeramaneck, Alice N. Masterpieces of Indian Painting: From the Former Collections of Nasli M. Heeramaneck. Verona, Italy: A.N. Heeramaneck, 1984. Mentioned: p. 95; Reproduced: color plate 87, p. 103
Leach, Linda York. Indian Miniature Paintings and Drawings. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1986. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 104
Tōyō kaiga no seika: tokubetsuten: Kurīvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara [東洋絵画の精華: 特别展: クリーヴラント美術館のコレクションから= Highlights of Asian painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art]. Nara, Japan: Nara National Museum, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 32, cat. no. 11
Goswamy, B. N. The Spirit of Indian Painting: Close Encounters with 101 Great Works, 1100-1900. NY: Thames & Hudson, 2016. Mentioned: p. 208-211; Reproduced: p. 208, 210
Exhibition history

Rajput Painting. Asia House, New York, NY (December 3, 1960-January 22, 1961).

Indian Miniature Rotation (Gallery 115). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 4-August 5, 2003).

Rajput Painting. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (November 30, 1960-January 22, 1961).

Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).

Yoga: The Art of Transformation. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (February 21-May 25, 2014); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 22-September 7, 2014).

Supernatural Love - Indian Gallery 242 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (April 1-September 9, 2019).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1952.587