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Dhumavati/Matangi

About 1890
(not assigned)Calcutta, Bengal, Indian
Medium/TechniqueLithograph
DimensionsHeight x width: 30.5 × 40.3 cm (12 × 15 7/8 in.)
Credit LineMarshall H. Gould Fund
Accession number2017.3941
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsPrints
Description

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.

InscriptionsLeft side: Below image: title of print in English, Sanskrit and Bengali At bottom: Calcutta Art Studio 185 Bowbazar St Right side: Below image: title of print in English, Sanskrit and Bengali At bottom: Calcutta Art Studio 185 Bowbazar St
Provenance2015, purchased in Calcutta, India by Mark Baron and Elise Boisanté, New York; 2017, sold by Mark Baron and Elise Boisante to the MFA. (Accession date: October 11, 2017)
Sarojini
Calcutta Art Studio
1882
Calcutta Art Studio
about 1890
Shri Shri Dashabhuja
Calcutta Jubilee Art Studio, H.P. Bhur
About 1880–1885
Shiva Parvati
Calcutta Jubilee Art Studio
About 1880–1885
Ahalyá Udhár
Calcutta Art Studio
About 1880
Harishchandra
Calcutta Art Studio
About 1878
Annapurna
Calcutta Art Studio
About 1878
Gostha Lila
Calcutta Art Studio
About 1880
Krishna-Kali
Calcutta Art Studio
About 1883
Akaal Bodhan
Calcutta Art Studio
About 1885
Shri Shri Anapurna
Calcutta Art Studio
About 1890
Dwarf Incarnation
Calcutta Art Studio
About 1890