Goddess Bhadrakali Worshipped by the Gods from a tantric Devi series

Object Details

• Artist

  Attributed to Kripal (active 1660-1690)

• Court

  Basohli Court

• School/Tradition

  Pahari school

• Label

  The fearsome goddess Kali, the "Dark One," is dressed in splendid garments, adorned with jewels and framed by a halo of fiery brilliance. An image of both destruction and beneficence, she brandishes a variety of weapons, but in one of her eight hands holds a lotus flower, a symbol of grace and purity. Standing upon a prostrate male, Kali is visualized as the supreme Shakti, or female force. In recognition of Kali's immense power, the three principal gods of Hinduism--Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva--stand in subservient devotion.

  Basohli artists created a unique female type with rounded faces and predatory eyes. Typical of the Basohli style is the use of raised white paint to accentuate pearl ornaments and beetle wings to suggest emeralds. Also characteristic are the rich, bold colors.

• Provenance

  ?-1925

  Radha Krishna Bharany (ca. 1877-1942), method of acquisition unknown [1]

  1925-?

  Unidentified individual, American, purchased from Radha Krishna Bharany [2]

  ?-1984

  Terence McInerney, New York, NY, method of acquisition unknown [3]

  From 1984

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Terence McInerney [4]

  Notes:

  [1] See letter from Terence McInerney to Milo C. Beach, dated October 20, 1984, copy in object file. Terence McInerney’s letter states that this object “has been in America, remarkably enough, since about 1925 (when it was purchased by an enterprising and wealthy tourist from Radhakrishna Bharany[, a dealer in Amistar, India]).”

  Radha Krishna Bharany (ca. 1877-1942) (aka R. K. Bharany) was a dealer and collector of Indian textile and painting based in Amritsar, India. His son, Chhotelal (C. L.) Bharany, also became a dealer and a collector of Indian art across various genres but is best known for specializing in Indian paintings. C. L. Bharany inherited and expanded upon his father’s personal collection, and, in 2014, he gave objects from the joint collection to the National Museum in Kolkata. See “A Passionate Eye: Textiles, Paintings, and Sculptures from the Bharany Collections” [book], ed. Giles Tillotson (Mumbai: The Marg Foundation, 2014).

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See incoming receipt, dated October 10, 1984, copy in object file. The object was transferred from Terence McInerney to the Freer Gallery of Art for acquisition consideration on October 10, 1984.

  Terence G. McInerney is a dealer specializing in Indian and Islamic paintings in New York, NY. McInerney’s businesses included Greater India Company, Inc. (active 1974-1991) in Cambridge, MA and Terence McInerney Fine Arts, Ltd. (active 1990-2013) in New York, NY.

  [4] See object file for copy of Terence McInerney invoice to Freer Gallery of Art and marked approved on November 14, 1984.

  Research updated June 28, 2023

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Female Imagery in Indian Painting (February 9 to August 5, 1996)

  South and South East Asian Art (May 9, 1993 to February 7, 2000)

  The Arts of South Asia (May 13, 1985 to December 2, 1985)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Radha Krishna Bharany (ca. 1877-1942)

  Terence G. McInerney (American, born 1948)

• Origin

  Basohli, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab Hills, India

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1650s, 1670s

• Name

  Bharany, Radha Krishna, McInerney, Terence G.

• Place

  Punjab Hills, Basohli, Kashmir, Jammu, India

• Topic

  Conch shell, South Asian and Himalayan Art, Vishnu, Worship, Art, Tantra, Bhadrakali, Men, Brahma? (Hindu deity), Lotus, Shiva, Devi (Hindu deity)

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Paintings