Indian Seated Figure of Durga

Four arms, one leg folded, the other at ease. Power, entirely at rest.

This seated figure of Durga is from India, 18th century, in brass. Durga is among the most widely worshipped goddesses in Hinduism, a protector who battles evil, and small brass images of her were made for daily worship in home shrines. She sits on a stepped pedestal, one leg hanging down, a small vessel in one lower hand. Behind her rises a flaming arch with a hooded canopy, and a grimacing face at its peak. Her own features look softly rubbed. A little over five inches high.

She fits in one hand and has never once seemed small.