Devi Shrine (c. 1810): Art, History and Details

Devi Shrine (c. 1810) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The sacred space of a Hindu shrine is separated from the everyday world by an enclosure wall. The mount of the goddess, a tiger, perches on a pedestal in front, gazing into the sanctum. On either side of the doorway are the monkey god Hanuman and the elephant-headed Ganesha seated on his mount, the rat. They ensure protection and success of a devotee’s worship. This powerful six-armed goddess has been dressed and adorned as a living presence. She holds a different weapon in each hand. She offered protection from disease or malevolent forces that endanger children to her devotees.

Object facts

• Title: Devi Shrine
• Date: c. 1810
• Culture: Northern India, Himachal Pradesh, Pahari Kingdom of Mandi
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Gum tempera and gold on paper
• Dimensions: 31.8 x 24.1 cm (12 1/2 x 9 1/2 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2020.80

A detail from the museum

The marble structure with floral inlay derived from Islamic architecture, though the shrine is Hindu.

Collection credit

Gift of Nancy and Wayne Hunnicutt

Further reading listed by the museum

• Christie's South Kensington. Arts & Textiles of the Islamic & Indian Worlds. October 9, 2015. Lot 8.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.