Ashta-bhuja-dhari Durga

$1515
The painting is a rare synthesis of Tanjore art style and miniature idiom though not without a blend of contemporaneousness that the artist unknowingly added. This stylistic blend is so perfect that the eye might hardly discern. Kailash Raj, the known miniaturist of Jaipur who rendered this painting might have hardly known when from his hands slipped his age – his contemporaneousness, and the land of Rajasthan, both his age and land becoming the part of his painting.
Item Code: PT62
Specifications:
Tanjore Painting on BoardTraditional Colors with 24 Karat Gold
Dimensions 18 inch X 24.0 inch
Handmade
Handmade
Free delivery
Free delivery
Fully insured
Fully insured
100% Made in India
100% Made in India
Fair trade
Fair trade

A brilliant work of art, the painting represents Ashta-bhuja-dhari – eight-armed goddess Durga on her mount, the majestic lion. Not operative, the goddess along her mount is a votive image in static position. She has been represented as seated on her mount quite casually in a posture similar to ‘lalitasana’. The image along her mount has been installed on a terrace paved with marble tiles exactly as are floors in most shrines. A golden balustrade separates the terrace from the background. Over the image of the goddess there is an arched ‘vedika’ and a large splendid ‘kshatra’ – umbrella, hung on it. Except the normal right hand that she is holding in ‘abhay’ in other hands on the right side she is carrying flames of fire, mace and trident, and on the left, disc, lotus, ‘purna-ghat’ – pot, and conch. Manifesting in her form the Great Trinity the image has been conceived with four attributes of Lord Vishnu – lotus, disc, conch and mace, two attributes – flames of fire and trident of Lord Shiva, and ‘purna-ghat’ – pot, the symbolic representation of Brahma. Besides them the goddess has on her forehead the ‘tri-netra’ – third eye, the essential attribute of Shiva and of her Shaivite lineage.  

As it seems, Kailash Raj had in mind the magnificence, resplendence and glory of Tanjore art when there occurred in his mind the gorgeous image of goddess Durga and instead of his puritan idiom of miniature painting he planned representing it in gorgeous Tanjore style. In doing the border along with the inner framing line embellished with floral vines using embossing technique, inlay of semi-precious stones and enameling, and arched ‘vedika’, a symbolic representation of shrine, along with spandrels and pendentives, as also kshatra, Kailash Raj has wondrously used the Tanjore art idiom. 

However, it seems that the artist’s own idiom and land soon knocked his door and he had to allow them entry. In doing the floor he resorted to Rajasthan’s court-art and paved his floor with marble tiles like one in a royal palace. For separating the terrace from the outside background when he conceived a balustrade he chose the gorgeous idiom of Tanjore art abounding in great splendour but when rendering it he resorted to same pattern as is commonly seen in Rajasthani court-paintings. Here a golden balustrade has alternated marble trellises or a marble-clad partition wall. The lush green background beyond the balustrade packed with a huge variety of trees and plants, flowering and others – Saptaparni, palms and others, and a wide range of birds frisking from one branch to other, is obviously his miniature art idiom. Such background with nature teeming with birds, and multi-coloured curly clouds in far off sky are not the aspects of Tanjore painting. 

Casualness of sitting, unlike the classical mode of ‘lalitasana, front face and the modeling of the goddess’s figure, as also the modeling of her mount, all suggest that the hands that produced the painting are contemporary, not those trained into a tradition such as produced a Tanjore painting. In Tanjore paintings such spaces, especially those behind the goddess under the arched ‘vedika’ that she enshrines, are formal adorned with some floral pattern or other. This vividness of art traditions reflects also in the similar breadth of mediums. As colours are a sole vehicle of a miniature painting, such materials as boards, wooden plaques, metal foils, beads, mirrors, precious, semi-precious stones, enameling lac, gums among others are the vehicles of Tanjore painting. This painting makes use of both and this gives it its rare distinction. Texts perceive the goddess as the supreme beauty and ultimate womanhood, and in her iconic vision – in the quality of her image, beautiful features and a balanced anatomy the artist has appropriately reproduced it.

The is description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet.

Gilded Elegance: Unraveling the Artistry of Tanjore Paintings

Tanjore painting is a traditional form of art in the South Indian style and was started by the inhabitants of a small town known as Thanjavur of Tamil Nadu. This gives it another name called “Thanjavur painting”. This painting draws its figures, designs, and inspiration from the time when Vedic culture was prevalent in India. Certain remarkable features of a Tanjore painting distinguish it from other paintings. Some of these are pure gold or gold foil coating on gesso work, the use of rich and vivid colors, and the inlay of cut-glass or semi-precious and precious stones. The subjects of most of the Tanjore paintings are Hindu Gods, Goddesses, and saints. The main devotional figure is portrayed in the central portion of the painting and is usually surrounded by various secondary figures.

The process of making a Tanjore painting

The classic Tanjore paintings are done on wooden planks and hence are also referred to as Palagai Padam in South India (Palagai = Wooden plank, Padam = Picture). Creating a masterpiece is never an easy task but the skilled artists of Thanjavur have been following the tradition of making timeless Tanjore paintings for decades.
The making process begins with preparing the wooden board or canvas. The size of the board depends upon the choice of the patron. The next step is to paste cardboard over the wooden board and then a cotton fabric is stretched and pasted upon it using Arabic gum.
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Now that the cloth is attached to the wooden panel, a rough sketch of the motifs and figure is drawn onto the fabric. After this, a paste of chalk powder and water-soluble adhesive is evenly applied over the base and smoothed.
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Thereafter, the outlines which were made or traced using a stencil are now ready to be beautified and decked with various add-ons. The usual materials for decoration are cut-glass, pearls, semi-precious and precious gems, gold leaf, and laces. 22 or 18 Karat Gold leaves and gems of varied hues are especially inlaid in areas like pillars, arches, walls, thrones, and dresses. In the final step, the rest of the painting is filled with rich and striking colors such as shades of red, blue, and green. Formerly, the artists used natural colors like vegetable and mineral dyes instead of chemical paints. The entire painting is then cleaned and refined to give a flawless finished look.
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Since the making of a single piece of Tanjore painting requires a complex and elaborate process, the artists usually take at least one or two months to complete it. The use of pure gold foil and gems for beautification is a characteristic of an authentic Tanjore painting. Due to this, Tanjore paintings last for generations without getting tarnished and are much more expensive than general paintings. Though the art form has undergone various changes and technique modifications over the years, it continues to attract the hearts of art lovers.
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