Shiva

ca. 1850–70

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 251

An early wood engraving by the artist Nritya Lal Datta depicts the supreme form of Shiva (Sadashiva) dressed in a tiger-skin skirt. His omnipresence is implied by his five heads, each with a topknot of dreadlocks (jatamukuta) entwined with snakes, as described in the devotional text the Uttara-kamikagama. Shiva’s form as the Master of Music (Vinadhara-Dakshinamurti) is also evoked here: he plays the vina and the double-sided damaru drum in his right hands and the horn and kettle drum with his left. Curiously, this majestic Shiva appears domesticated; he is represented on a stage framed by slender fluted columns and swags of curtains, as if the god were performing in a Kolkata music hall.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Shiva
Artist: Nritya Lal Datta , studio artist
Date: ca. 1850–70
Culture: West Bengal, Kolkota, Battala district
Medium: Relief print, probably from a woodblock, watercolor (hand-coloring)
Dimensions: Sheet: 17 3/4 × 11 3/4 in. (45.1 × 29.8 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2020
Object Number: 2020.13
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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