Ten-Armed Goddess Durga, Seated on a Double Lion Throne

11th century

India
Madhya Pradesh

This sculpture presents the supreme goddess Durga in her pacific form as Kshemankari, wherein addorsed lions are positioned beneath her seat. Garland-bearing vidyadharas (celestial couples) flank Durga’s elaborate halo, while three devotees sit at her feet with their hands folded in reverence. Now damaged, each of her ten hands was originally endowed with different implements and attributes. Features such as Durga’s patterned halo, coiffed hair, heavy jewelry, striated lower garment, and the dense cross-hatching of her shield suggest that the sculpture may be from a temple in northern Madhya Pradesh.

Status: On View, Gallery 141
Department: Arts of Asia

Title: Ten-Armed Goddess Durga, Seated on a Double Lion Throne
Place: Madhya Pradesh (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1001–1100
Medium: Sandstone
Dimensions: 106.7 × 68.6 × 28 cm (42 × 27 × 11 in.)
Credit Line: James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection. Gift of Marilynn Alsdorf
Reference Number: 2021.201
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/148367/manifest.json

Two Thousand Years of Indian Art, exh. cat. (London: Spink & Son Ltd., 1982), 70 (ill), cat. 45.
Pratapaditya Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, exh. cat. (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Thames and Hudson, 1997), 178 (ill), 323–4, cat. 227.

London, Spink & Son, Two Thousand Years of Indian Art, Apr. 6–23, 1982, cat. 45.
Art Institute of Chicago, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Aug. 2–Oct. 26, 1997, cat. 227.

With Spink & Son, London, by Aug. 18, 1983 [invoices from Spink & Son, Aug. 18 and Aug. 25, 1983; copies in curatorial object file]; sold to James W. Alsdorf (1913–1990) and Marilynn B. Alsdorf (1925–2019), Winnetka and Chicago, IL, Aug. 18, 1983; by descent to Marilynn B. Alsdorf, Chicago, 1990 [on long-term loan at the Art Institute of Chicago, July 15, 1997; publicly promised as a gift to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1997; signed a promised gift agreement for the work, 2002]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2021.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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Ten-Armed Goddess Durga, Seated on a Double Lion Throne

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.