A brass sculpture from twelfth century Pala-Sena Bangladesh, held by the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, accession S1992.46, gift of Dr. David R. Nalin. It shows the multi-armed goddess Durga in her Mahishasuramardini form, mounted in combat against the shape-shifting buffalo demon Mahishasura, whose boon of invulnerability to gods and men left him defeatable only by a goddess. The composition follows the standard iconography of the type first attested in inscriptions and sculpture from the sixth century CE, the goddess's face calm and serene even as she wields multiple weapons in the act of slaying him.
Facts
Custody
Current LocationSmithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, D.C., accession S1992.46 1 Current CustodianSmithsonian National Museum of Asian Art 1 Medium (class) Subject Matter
Depicted SubjectDurga in her Mahishasuramardini form, slaying the buffalo demon Mahishasura. 1 Connections
Associated With
This source names Bangladesh directly: "from twelfth century Pala-Sena Bangladesh, held by the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, accession S1992.46, gift of Dr."
Source Durga as Mahishasuramardini, S1992.46 (Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art)
Belongs to Tradition
Derived: this work depicts a figure already recorded as belonging to this tradition; the work-to-tradition link is inferred from that live depicts edge and the figures own attested tradition affiliation, not independently sourced beyond it.
Depicts
Durga, Deities Source Durga as Mahishasuramardini, S1992.46 (Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art)
The Smithsonian's own record for this work already names Mahishasura directly, describing the goddess Durga in combat against the shape-shifting buffalo demon.
Source Durga as Mahishasuramardini, S1992.46 (Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art)
Sources
1. Durga as Mahishasuramardini, S1992.46 (Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art)
Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Artcatalogue record, medium/object-type description
A brass sculpture from twelfth century Pala-Sena Bangladesh, held by the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, accession S1992.
- Depicts: Mahishasura, accession S1992.46
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.