While walking through the Rubin Museum, a strange sculpture caught my attention. It was a human like figure with multiple arms that was standing on a lion and what appears to be a centaur. Although there is many other sculptures similar to this one, I felt the lion in this piece was more interesting than any other that I had already seen. After reading the description beneath the sculpture, I discovered the human like figure was Durga, a fearsome goddess. The lion she was standing on (with her right foot) was Vahana, her faithful animal companion.

When I first saw this sculpture I had thought, Durga was standing triumphantly over her most recent prey. However, I learned that Vahana the lion was an accomplice during the slaying of Mahisha the buffalo demon. The description below explains this as Durga’s most famous narrative. It was the story of Durga’s encounter with Mahisha. However, it was not the fight that was significant about this narrative but Durga’s calm composure that reflected her all powerful most fearsome stance.

Overall I felt the Rubin Museum was an wonderful experience and thoroughly enjoyed it. Along with this fascinating piece of art that described the beliefs and culture of the 1400’s, there were many other interesting pieces. In one area of the museum, there was an display of the process on how to create fine metal sculptures. In the end, I believe the Rubin Museum is something everyone should visit.