TWO TAMIL COMPANY SCHOOL ILLUSTRATIONS OF HINDU GODS
Tiruchirappalli (Trichinopoly), Tamil Nadu, Southern India, ca. 1880 - 1920

Opaque pigments and black ink on Western wove paper, comprising a vertical composition depicting the Southern Indian god Khandoba, a combination of the Sanskritic solar deity Martanda and Shiva's fierce form Bhairava, riding his white steed, his consort Mhalsa seated in front of him and his dog depicted in the foreground, set within a dark red rule, with a Tamil inscription in black ink on the lower right corner, pasted on a larger folio watermarked BFK Rives, 32cm x 26.5cm; and another similar, with the monkey god, Hanuman, climbing a rocky mound, with another Tamil inscription on the lower right corner, the paper watermarked '1857', 31.5cm x 26cm.