Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Hindu Goddesses
(India, Nepal, and Tibet)
These three goddesses powerfully embody "shakti," the divine feminine energy that activates the cosmos, according to many traditions of Hindu thought. The central goddess, with a pyramid of animal heads, is an esoteric form of Kali, squatting on a jackal and dominating over a prostrate Bhairava, an angry form of the god Shiva. On the left is another form of the dark blue Kali, standing atop a male corpse. To the right is Durga, vanquishing the buffalo demon with the help of her lion.
Below each goddess is a "yantra," a sacred diagram that functions as a tool to focus the mind during meditation. In Hindu Tantra, each goddess is associated with a specific yantra that serves as her geometric representation. Devotees worship a goddess both in her figural form and as her yantra. The clothing that these devotees wear marks them as members of Nepali royalty.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Mr. Tsarong, Washington, D.C. [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, July 1980, by purchase.
Exhibitions
| 2006-2007 | Goddess Divine Energy. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. |
| 2001-2003 | Desire and Devotion: Art from India, Nepal, and Tibet in the John and Berthe Ford Collection. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque; Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham; Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong. |
Geographies
Nepal (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Framed H: 38 7/8 × W: 35 13/16 × D: 2 11/16 in. (98.8 × 91 × 6.8 cm)
Credit Line
Promised gift of John and Berthe Ford
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
F.141