id:			162518
accession number:	2003.157.a
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2003.157.a
updated:		2022-01-04 17:31:48.746000

Sheetaladevi: The Smallpox Goddess (recto), c. 1890. Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat. Watercolor, graphite, ink, and tin on paper; secondary support: 46.9 x 29.8 cm (18 7/16 x 11 3/4 in.); painting only: 45.5 x 27.7 cm (17 15/16 x 10 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward 2003.157.a

title:				Sheetaladevi: The Smallpox Goddess (recto)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1890
creation date earliest:		1875
creation date latest:		1895
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of William E. Ward in memory of his wife, Evelyn Svec Ward
copyright:			

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culture:	Eastern India, Bengal, Kolkata, Kalighat
technique:	Watercolor, graphite, ink, and tin on paper
department:	Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection:	Indian Art
type:		Painting
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Secondary Support: 46.9 x 29.8 cm (18 7/16 x 11 3/4 in.); Painting only: 45.5 x 27.7 cm (17 15/16 x 10 7/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Indian Kalighat Paintings
	opening date:   2011-05-01T00:00:00
	<i>Indian Kalighat Paintings</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 1-September 18, 2011).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	William E. Ward [1922-2004], Solon, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: ?-2003
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2003-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 


digital description: 


wall description: 
Sheetala, the smallpox goddess, is simultaneously benevolent and dangerous: she can both protect and infect, bless and curse devotees with smallpox and other diseases. Persons scarred by smallpox are believed to have been graced by her. She is appeased so that she does not infect her worshippers. Her name, Sheetala, “Cool One,” refers to her birth out of a cooled sacrificial fire. The rippled curtains above her are suggestive of theatrical tableau and <em>Sheetalapala</em> (The Drama of Sheetala) that was performed in Bengal. She sits astride her vehicle (<em>vahana</em>), the donkey, regarded as an inauspicious animal.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2003.157.a/2003.157.a_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2003.157.a/2003.157.a_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2003.157.a/2003.157.a_full.tif