FIVE MICA PAINTINGS OF HINDU DEITIES INCLUDING SHIVA NATARAJA
Tiruchirappalli (Trichinopoly), Tamil Nadu, Southern India, ca. 1830 - 1850

Opaque pigments on mica, comprising five leaves in vertical format, each panel presenting a different deity from the Hindu pantheon, including the Vaishnava Avatar of Lord Rama with his bow and arrow; Shiva and his consort Parvati on the back of Nandi, the bull; Shiva as the Lord of the Dance (Nataraja) squashing the Dwarf of Ignorance; Skanda, the god of war, and one of Shiva's sons; and Shiva in meditation, seated on a gem-studded lotus pedestal holding a flag with a trisula (trident) flanked by two lingams, two panels mounted on thin paper with English inscriptions in pencil, two panels mounted on paper and white cardboard, and another loose, the largest 10.8cm x 15.4cm.