Durga Mahisasuramardini
Sulla scultura
This terracotta sculpture shows the Hindu goddess Durga killing the demon Mahisa disguised as a buffalo. It is a recurrent subject in Hindu sculpture from the Kushan period (1st century AD-320 AD) onwards.
This form of Durga goes through an elaborate iconographic evolution which we can trace through rock-cut and freestanding versions. The majority are large-scale images in a temple context. This representation is a small-scale terracotta, crudely modelled for use perhaps in a household or wayside shrine. It shows Durga in an early four-armed form, lifting the buffalo's body up by the tail and holding its head down with her foot so she can despatch it with Shiva's trident.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Scheda
- Numero di inventario
- IS.71-1986
