Album depicting one hundred Hindu gods

February 2, 1837

Not on view

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

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

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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