Shah Alam II Hawking    |     Hunhar II     |    National Museum of Scotland

thanks to @dpanikkar

left : portrait of an African courtier, possibly Malik Ambar [ PM of Ahmednagar, born Harar, Ethiopia ], Indian, Deccani, early 17th century, MFA, Boston
right : possibly Fath Khan, son of Malik Ambar [ Ahmednagar ], Indian, Deccani, 1610-1620, MFA, Boston

both images thanks to @dpanikkar

left : Mutuby, mistress of Ashraf ‘Ali Khan. Attributed to Dip Chand, Patna, 1764. British Library, Add.Or.735.
right : Ashraf ‘Ali Khan. Attributed to Dip Chand, Patna, 1764. British Library, Add.Or.736

British Library link

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

image thanks to @dpanikkar    |    located State Museum, Lucknow

utterly sublime    |    images thanks to Sanjeev khandekar    @Chemburstudio    mumbai

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anant Raje : Indian Institute of Forestry Management  |  1984  |  Bhopal India

Raje worked with Louis Kahn on IIM Ahmedabad and completed the scheme after Kahn’s death in 1974.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thanks to @dpanikkar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vilaval Ragini, Ragamala series, Rajasthan    |    British Museum

thanks to @dpanikkar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Female Lokapurusha Mandala : 1625 Gujrat

thanks to @Chemburstudio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pour nous prouver que cette belle
c. 1717 – 1718
Oil on pine panel with walnut strips
16.1 x 19.9 cm
Made up to, Object size: 18.6 x 23.7 cm
Wallace Collection, London

The verses which accompanied Surugue’s 1719 engraving of the picture explained:

To prove that this beauty
Finds the marriage knot sweet
The painter has shown her faithful
Following the music of her husband.
These children around her
Are the fruits of her tender love
Which this handsome student may well taste one day.

Photograph of Vincent Van Gogh in Brussels by Victor Morin, 1886

I find this quite remarkable….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picasso : “Nude with Raised Arm and Drapery” (1907)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Durga as mahish-asura-mardini – Airavateswarar temple – Darasuram

thanks to @dpanikkar

from wikipedia :

Durga (Hindustani pronunciation: [ˈd̪ʊrɡaː]; Sanskrit: दुर्गा), meaning “the inaccessible”[1] or “the invincible”, is the most popular incarnation of Devi and one of the main forms of the Goddess Shakti in the Hindu pantheon. Durga is the original manifested form of Mother Parvati or Adi-Parashakti. Durga is Adi-Parashakti herself. The Devi Gita, declares her to be the greatest Goddess. Thus, she is considered the supreme goddess and primary deity in Shaktism, occupying a place similar to Lord Krishna in Vaishnavism. According to Skanda Purana, the goddess Parvati accounted the name “Durga” after she killed the demon Durgamaasura. Goddess Parvati is considered to be the complete incarnation of Adi Parashakti or Goddess Durga, with all other goddesses being her incarnations or manifestations. Adi Parashakti or Mahadevi, the supreme power, is called Durga Shakti as per Devi-Mahatmya. Adi Parashakti or Devi Durga is a Hindu concept of the Ultimate Shakti or Mahashakti, the ultimate power inherent in all Creation. This is especially prevalent in the Shakta denomination within Hinduism, which worships the Goddess Devi in all her manifestations. She is Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Saraswati in her mild form; Goddess Kali and Goddess Chandi in her wrathful form. Durga is also called Padmanabha-Sahodari and Narayani, the sister of Lord Vishnu. According to Shaivism and Shaktism She is supreme, but to bring back lord Shiva in Sansar, she was reborn in human form (Sati and Parvati) to marry Shiva. Durga gave birth to his first child Kartikeya.