Asia Week New York 2022:
Kapoor Galleries

A Leaf from the Devi Mahatmya: Homage of the Gods
Guler, circa 1850
Opaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper
8 3/4 x 12 2/3 in. (22 x 32 cm.)

Provenance:
Collection of the Marquess of Tweeddale.
Sotheby’s New York, 16 & 17 September 1998, lot 561.
Private collection, United States.

This bright and striking painting depicts a delegation of gods, led by Indra and Agni, worshipping the various forms of the great goddess Devi: Indrani, Lakshmi, Brahmani, Maheshvari, Varahi, Bhairavi, Narasimhi, Kaumari, and Kali, at the forefront. The painting is in the Kangra style, which became well established in the Guler State by the mid-eighteenth century. The detailed rendering of each figure, the bright orange, green and light pink hues reflect the nineteenth-century evolution Guler painting. The horizon is particularly telling of its date.