Where can I see Untitled?

Untitled is held by Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What movement is Untitled?

Untitled is associated with Baroque.

Untitled (dated 1651) · Meaning & Museum

About this work

A many-armed goddess rides a lion, her face calm but fierce, a weapon in every hand, the bright reds and blues sharp against dark cloth. The scroll is double-sided, rare for its kind: Durga in battle on one face, at peace on the other. Dated 1651, its maker unknown, the worn cloth suggests heavy ritual use.

Subject & Meaning

The work’s mythological genre situates it within Himalayan artistic traditions, reflecting Nepalese devotional practices that emphasize female divine authority.

The painting, dated 1651 and executed as a double‑sided scroll in ink and color on cloth, portrays the Hindu goddess Durga, identified in both scholarly classification and Wikidata as a deity and divine figure. As an embodiment of protective power, Durga’s iconography, armed with multiple weapons and riding a lion, symbolizes the triumph of order over chaos and the safeguarding of the cosmos. The work’s mythological genre situates it within Himalayan artistic traditions, reflecting Nepalese devotional practices that emphasize female divine authority. Consequently, the piece functions as a visual narrative of divine intervention and cosmic balance.

Technique & Style

Created in 1651 in Nepal, this anonymous work is executed as a double-sided scroll. The artist employed ink and color applied directly onto a cloth support. The painting depicts the goddess Durga within a mythological context.

Physically, the object measures 28.9 centimeters in height and 55.9 centimeters in width. Held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the piece represents a specific tradition of painted scrolls where the cloth medium serves as the primary surface for the ink and pigment application.

History & Provenance

The work is an anonymous Nepalese painting dated to 1651, executed as a double-sided scroll in ink and color on cloth depicting the goddess Durga. According to the sources, it was made in Nepal and bears no recorded commission or earlier owners; its provenance begins with its entry into the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection, where it is currently housed. No further ownership history is documented in the provided material.

The double-sided scroll titled Untitled, created in 1651 by an unknown artist in Nepal, is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While specific accession numbers are not provided in the source material, the work is cataloged within the museum's holdings under the classification of paintings depicting the goddess Durga. The artwork measures 28.9 cm in height and 55.9 cm in width.

No specific exhibition history or dates of display are recorded in the available documentation, though the piece is identified as a mythological work executed in ink and color on cloth. The museum serves as the sole verified location for this anonymous 17th-century Nepalese creation.

Overview

This untitled painting is a rare example of a double-sided scroll, rendered with ink and color on cloth. It presents two distinct aspects of the Hindu goddess Durga, each on an opposing face of the textile. Such a format, allowing for dual imagery on a single support, is uncommon among scrolls of this type. The artwork offers a comprehensive portrayal of the deity's multifaceted nature.