Dhumavati/Matangi
This print belongs to a set of five prints depicting the 10 Mahavidyas. The Mahavidyas, who first appear in late medieval Hinduism, are considered to be individual incarnations or manifestations of the Great Goddess, paralleling the ten incarnations of Vishnu. An origin story relates them to ten forms assumed by Shiva's wife Sati, in her anger over the disrespect her father, Daksha, showed toward Shiva. The Mahavidyas were particularly honored in the Bengal region.
Dhumavati (widow) appears as an aged widow, in ragged clothing and unbound, disheveled hair. She holds a winnowing fan and rides on a carriage on which a crow alights. Matangi is a dark-complexioned woman with long unbound wavy hair. She is seated on a throne in from of a curtained balcony. She has four hands that hold a goad, sword, club, noose, and a tambura.