Goddess (Mata)

Object Details

• Label

  The Mother Goddess, or Mata, has many forms. In shrines throughout Bastar District, the Gond people worship her as the goddess Danteshwari. A Gond legend states that Danteshwair has thirty-two sisters. Each community of the Gonds has its own goddess, usually identified as one of these divine sisters. Bronze sculptures of the goddesses are made by non-Gond craftspeople and may be virtually interchangeable with one another in style. It is often impossible to identify the image of these specific deities out of context. They gain their individuality only during puja.

• Provenance

  At least ca. 1970-1990

  Marilyn Hirsh (1944-1988) and James Harris, method of acquisition unknown [1]

  From 1990

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, purchased from James Harris through Peter Marks Works of Art, New York, NY [2]

  Notes:

  [1] See note on Arthur M. Sackler Gallery letter from Carol Radcliffe Bolon, Assistant Curator, South and Southeast Asian Art, dated April 9, 1990, copy in object file. Carol Radcliffe Bolon says “[...] I knew Marilyn Hirsh and James Harris in graduate school at New York University Institute of Fine Arts since 1970 and I saw their collection of Indian art including the objects now being offered for sale to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery […].”

  Marilyn Hirsh was a historian of Indian and Buddhist art and taught at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts and the Cooper Union. She married her husband, James H. Harris in 1973. Together they resided in New York, NY. Hirsh also authored several children’s books.

  [2] See Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, “Acquisition Consideration Form,” approved on April 25, 1990, copy in object file.

  See also Peter Marks Works of Art, Inc., invoice dated March 23, 1990, copy in object file.

  Research updated June 8, 2023

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Puja: Expressions of Hindu Devotion (Friday, April 26, 1996 - Sunday, July 09, 2000)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Marilyn Hirsh (1944-1988)

  James H. Harris

  Peter Marks, Inc. (active 1963-2002)

• Origin

  Chhattisgarh state, India

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds

• Type

  Sculpture

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1920s, 1870s

• Name

  Harris, James H., Hirsh, Marilyn, Peter Marks, Inc.

• Place

  Chhattisgarh state, India

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Sculpture, Metal-work, Danteshwari

• Culture

  Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Sculpture