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9. Durga Mahishamardini
Painted porcelain
Height: 22.5 cm
Nineteenth century
Catalogue number 9.
Accession number 88.521.
This image of Durga as slayer of Mahisha, the buffalo demon, is remarkable for the material from which it is made. Such European manufacture may have been introduced into Bengal in the nineteenth century, and must have become quite popular in middle-class homes for its luster and beauty. Durga stands with one foot on the back of her lion and the other on the demon, surrounded by her four children. The frame and presentation of this image closely resembles an ivory plaque exhibited at the Great Exposition of 1851, and may represent an inexpensive substitute for that much more expensive material.
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