Forms of the Goddess Lajjā Gaurī in Indian Art (College Art Association Monograph) - Hardcover

Bolon, Carol Radcliffe

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0271007613 ISBN 13: 9780271007618

Publisher: Penn State University Press, 1992

Synopsis

Striking images of a certain Indian goddess have been variously referred to as the "shameless woman" the "nude squatting goddess," the "mother goddess," or, because her historical name remains unknown, more than twenty-five names, among them Aditi, Lajjā Gaurī, Renukā, and Nagna Kabambdha. The best-known images of this goddess have a female torso and a lotus flower in place of a head, while her legs are bent up at the knees and drawn up to each side in a position that has been described as one of "giving birth" or "self-display." This type of goddess figure is explained as part of a long, highly sophisticated tradition of expressing fertility and well-being in Indian art.

The artists creating images of Lajjā Gaurī drew on various ancient symbols of fortune, fertility, and life-force to communicate her power through their rich heritage of meanings. As these historical-religious symbols and images were constantly reused and reincorporated, they formed a new and enriched religious context. In the process of recycling they became empowered cultural metaphors, visual morphemes in the language of Indian art.

Because there are no texts to explain the figure, the study proceeds from the basis of the objects to derive their meaning. Carol Bolon charts the changes in the goddess's form over a period of more than four centuries, including its possible adoption from tribal worship into Hindu temples, and brings a new appreciation of Lajjā Gaurī's rich symbolic meanings and cultural context.

About this title

About the Author:

Carol Radcliffe Bolon is Assistant Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art at the Arthur M. Sachler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. She is the co-editor of The Nature of Frank Loyd Wright (1988).

About this edition

• Publisher: Penn State University Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0271007613
• ISBN 13: 9780271007618
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 178