Maa Lakshmi

This Pattachitra by Kanhu C Behera of Raghurajpur, Odisha, portrays Maa Lakshmi in her four-armed form, seated beneath an elaborately rendered temple arch. She holds lotus blossoms and offerings, while the panel below depicts the sacred lotus-water from which she is said to have emerged. The composition moves between dense architectural ornamentation and the stillness of the central figure, a balance characteristic of Kanhu's mature practice. Painted on handmade cloth canvas using pigments derived from stone and natural substances, this authenticated Pattachitra is a devotional and artistic object of enduring substance. 19" H × 13" W.