This eighteen-armed version of the goddess Durga originally stood on a pedestal upon which she vanquished the buffalo demon Mahishasura, trampling him with one foot while transfixing him with Shiva’s trident. This iconography is the supreme expression of the power of this goddess, “the Unassailable, the Unconquerable.”
Details
- Title : Durga as Slayer of the Buffalo Demon Mahishasura
- Year : 14th–15th century
- Classification : Sculpture
- Medium : Gilt copper alloy, inlaid with semiprecious stones
- Dimension : H. 8 3/4 in. (22.2 cm); W. 8 in. (20.3 cm); D. 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm); Wt. 6 lbs (2.7 kg)
- Accession No : 1986.498
- Country/ Geo-location : Nepal
- Collection : The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Credit Line : Gift of Alice and Nasli M. Heeramaneck, 1986
- Acquisition Method : Gift
- Status : On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 252
- Provenance : Dr. J. R. Belmont , Basel (by ca. 1950, until 1966, sold to Ellsworth);; [ R. H. Ellsworth Ltd. , New York, by 1977 sold to Humann]; Christian Humann , New York (until d. 1981, sold to Ellsworth); [ R. H. Ellsworth Ltd. , New York, until 1982, sold at Christie's, New York ]; [Sale, Christie's, New York , Dec. 1, 1982, lot 17, to Heeramaneck ]; Alice N. Heeramaneck , New York (1982–1986; donated to MMA)
- Exhibition History : New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of the Himalayas," December 15, 2010–December 4, 2011. New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Mother India: The Goddess in Indian Painting," June 29, 2011–November 27, 2011.