Album depicting one hundred Hindu gods
The paintings presented in this album, alongside inscriptions in Tamil and English, are a wondrous catalogue of the principal Hindu deities celebrated in southern India. While the work was commissioned by an American missionary and dispatched soon after to the United States, each image is a witness to the skill of the hereditary painters of Madurai—an artisan class whose members would later retrain in printmaking. The album is rich with detail; some iconography references specific places mentioned in regional legends.
Artwork Details
- Title: Album depicting one hundred Hindu gods
- Artist: Unidentified artists (Indian, Madurai, ca. 1830s)
- Date: February 2, 1837
- Culture: India, Madurai, Tamil Nadu
- Medium: Watercolor, ink, and gold on paper
- Dimensions: Each leaf: 9 5/8 × 7 13/16 in. (24.5 × 19.9 cm)
Bound volume: H. 9 15/16 in. (25.3 cm): W. 8 1/8 in. (20.7 cm); D. 1 3/16 in. (3 cm) - Classification: Manuscripts
- Credit Line: Purchase, Shanthi Kandiah, Brahmal Vasudevan, and The Alaka Foundation Gift, 2021
- Object Number: 2021.433
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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