Newars were among the earliest people to settle the Kathmandu Valley. Many took up the occupation of artists, using iconographical drawings to guide their production of religious imagery. These four pages come from a now-dispersed manual that contained images of various Hindu deities. One side of each page in the museum’s collection contains the illustration of a goddess. The other side contains sketches, diagrams, and instructional texts that, in many instances, do not pertain to the figure on the reverse.
An unidentified fierce female deity with three heads brandishes symbolic weapons in each of her eight hands. Legs crossed, she sits atop a crocodile, which itself rests on a lotus. Around her neck hangs a garland of skulls; a serpent writhes in and out of its folds. Her fiery red hair stands on end, all but filling her halo. Around each head she wears a crown decorated with skulls.
Details
- Title : Page from a Newari sketchbook: Utra
- Year : approx. 1600-1700
- Classification : Books And Manuscripts
- Medium : Ink on paper
- Dimension : H. 9 in x W. 7 1/2 in, H. 22.8 cm x W. 19 cm
- Accession No : 1994.20.2
- Country/ Geo-location : Nepal, perhaps Bhaktapur
- Collection : Asian Art Museum
- Credit Line : Gift of The Au Leshi Society, Inc
- Acquisition Method : Gift
- Status : Not on display
- Department : Himalayan Art
- Exhibition History : "Yoga: The Art of Transformation", Asian Art Museum, 2/21/2014-5/25/2014