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Shiva seated on the bull Nandin

late 19th century
Not on view
Shiva seated on the bull Nandin depicts the god Shiva as a rotund figure, nonchalantly seated on his calf-bull, whose head is turned affectionately towards his lord. Shiva is dressed in the stripped tiger skin skirt of an ascetic, and with entwined snakes providing his adornment; one even binds his top-knot of braided hair, head poised protectively. His eyes are upwards gazing, suggesting he is in an intoxicated state, as does the rhyton-type vessel he holds in his left hand, understood to contain the liquid extract of cannabis, bhang, a favorite hallucinogenic of Shiva.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Shiva seated on the bull Nandin
  • Date: late 19th century
  • Culture: India, Kalighat district, Kolkata, West Bengal
  • Medium: Watercolor on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 18 1/8 × 11 in. (46 × 27.9 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Peter Louis and Chandru Ramchandani, 2024
  • Object Number: 2024.413.2
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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