HARIHARA SEATED ON A LOTUS FLOWER
Basohli style, possibly Pahari Hills, Northern India, 20th century

Opaque pigments heightened with gold on wove paper, the vertical-format composition depicting the fused and unified sattvika characterisation of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara) seated on a lotus flower emerging from a pond, the body of the eight-armed deity split in half and painted in blue and white, the four hands on the left holding attributes typically associated with Vishnu like the club, the lotus, the chakram (quoit), and the conch shell, the four hands on the right with Shiva's attributes like the trisula (trident), the damaru drum, a begging bowl, and a noose or rosary, set against a bright ochre yellow ground, within brown and white rules, and bright red borders, the reverse plain, 32.5cm x 23.5cm.