Cleveland Museum of Art
Brahma
- Date
- c. 1890
- Medium
- Gum tempera, graphite, ink, and tin on paper
- Culture
- Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat
- Department
- Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Object ID
- 162498
From the Cleveland Museum of Art record
The god of creation has four arms and four heads. The manuscript in his upper right hand indicates that he is the source of sacred knowledge as the quintessential Brahman. The lotus flower in his lower right hand references birth and procreation. He would typically hold a rosary and water pot in his left hands, which are here difficult to clearly identify given the cursory style of Kalighat painitngs. His mount, the goose, examines the ground at his feet. Brahma once had five heads, but the god Shiva decapitated one of them.
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Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward
- Provenance
- ?–2003: William E. Ward [1922–2004], Solon, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art | 2003–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Part of a LinkedCulture topic
Hindu Deities and MythologyThese objects depict Hindu gods, goddesses, and mythological narratives, particularly featuring Durga slaying the buffalo demon Mahishasura, along with other deities like Ganesh, Krishna, and Brahma from various South an
59 objects from 3 institutions
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