The Goddess Devi Fights the Buffalo Demon, Mahisha

ca. 1800

Not On View

Image Only Image + Details All Images High Resolution TIFF Metadata

About the Artwork

Please note: This section is empty
Markings

Please note: This section is empty

This section contains information about signatures, inscriptions and/or markings an object may have.
Provenance

Please note: This section is empty

Provenance is a record of an object's ownership. We are continually researching and updating this information to show a more accurate record and to ensure that this object was ethically and legally obtained.

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Provenance page
Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Suggest Feedback
Published References

Please note: This section is empty

We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Suggest Feedback
Catalogue Raisonné

Please note: This section is empty

A catalogue raisonné is an annotated listing of artworks created by an artist across different media.
Credit Line for Reproduction

Please note: This section is empty

The credit line includes information about the object, such as the artist, title, date, and medium. Also listed is its ownership, the manner in which it was acquired, and its accession number. This information must be cited alongside the object whenever it is shown or reproduced.
Audio Transcript

Please note: This section is empty

About the Artwork

This painting illustrates the story of Devi, the supreme Goddess in Hindu traditions, fighting the powerful demon Mahisha (“Buffalo” in Sanskrit), whom no god could conquer. The imagery closely follows the plot narrated in the Devi Mahatmya, a devotional text about the heroic feats of Devi. Preparing for another round of combat, the Goddess drinks a cup of nectar and continues to fight. The buffalo demon opens his mouth in a loud roar and hurls mountains — here, represented as boulders — at her. Devi shatters the rocks with her arrows, then eventually goes on to defeat Mahisha.

Devi is known by many names and takes on many forms; in her battle against the buffalo demon, she is commonly called Durga. Riding her lion, she wears both protective armor and beautiful clothing and jewelry, and wields weapons and other attributes in her eighteen henna-dyed hands.

Title The Goddess Devi Fights the Buffalo Demon, Mahisha

Artwork Date ca. 1800

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Indian

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Dimensions Image: 8 × 12 inches (20.3 × 30.5 cm) Sheet: 10 1/4 × 14 1/8 inches (26 × 35.9 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department Asian Art

Credit Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Leo S. Figiel and Dr. and Mrs. Steven J. Figiel

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 69.428

Markings

Please note: This section is empty

Provenance

Dr. and Mrs. Leo S. Figiel and Dr. and Mrs. Steven J. Figiel;
1969-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

Suggest Feedback

Published References

Please note: This section is empty

We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

Suggest Feedback

Catalogue Raisoneé

Please note: This section is empty

Credit Line for Reproduction

Indian, The Goddess Devi Fights the Buffalo Demon, Mahisha, ca. 1800, opaque watercolor and gold on paper. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Leo S. Figiel and Dr. and Mrs. Steven J. Figiel, 69.428.