Description
Black-skinned, four-armed, her tongue out, and blood dripping from her mouth, Kali has a third eye—representative of enlightened or divine knowledge—on her forehead. Simultaneously benevolent and dangerous, she holds a sword and a demon’s severed head in two hands while the other two hands are in gestures of protection and blessing. This image would have been sold as a pilgrim souvenir to both locals and the colonial British around the Kalighat temple and is a replica of the image worshipped inside the temple. The frightening image of Kali especially fit into the colonial imagination and into Victorian popular culture and would have been an iconic souvenir/artifact to be shown to intrigued and horrified friends at home in England.
Provenance
William E. Ward [1922-2004], Solon, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art (?-2003); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2003-)
Accession Number
2003.110
Medium
Gum tempera, graphite, ink, and tin on paper
Dimensions
Secondary Support: 49.7 x 29.3 cm (19 9/16 x 11 9/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward