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Mughal artist

मत्स्य अवतार Matsya Avatar c. 1800

Opaque watercolour including gold-and silver-coloured metallic pigments on paper. | 41 x 27.4 cm (page dimensions) | RCIN 1005115.d

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    A depiction of Matsya, the first avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu who takes the form of a fish. According to Hindu belief, Matysa rescued man from a great flood.

    Matsya’s upper half is the traditional depiction of Vishnu: wearing a shawl and garland, he holds his usual attributes of the gada (mace), chakra (discus) as well as the shanka (conch shell) and padma (lotus).  He wears a crown and his haloed head is sheltered by a pearl-fringed parasol, signifiers of royal status. To the left floats the body of the demon Shankhasura emerging from a conch whose throat has been slit by Matsya. The two brahmins holding manuscripts represent the vedas (the Sanskrit holy texts which Matsya has rescued from the bottom of the ocean).

    This painting is from a series depicting the ten avatars of Vishnu. For further information on this series see RCIN 1005115.

    Provenance

    Presented to King Edward VII when Prince of Wales during his tour of India in 1875 by Mangaldas Nathubhoy.

  • Medium and techniques

    Opaque watercolour including gold-and silver-coloured metallic pigments on paper.

    Measurements

    41 x 27.4 cm (page dimensions)

    19.7 x 13 cm (image)


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