Household Gods: Hindu Devotional Prints, 1860–1930

Household Gods: Hindu Devotional Prints, 1860–1930 examines a pivotal era in the history of Indian visual culture, when the rise of chromolithography and commercial printing transformed the way Hindu deities were depicted and venerated at home.

Spanning seven decades, the exhibition brings together a rich selection of devotional prints that circulated widely across South Asia, revealing how sacred imagery became accessible to millions of households regardless of social class. These prints — featuring gods, goddesses, and mythological narratives — were displayed on domestic altars, hung on walls, and exchanged as gifts, weaving religious devotion into the fabric of daily life.

The works on display illuminate the intersection of faith, commerce, and visual innovation, showing how traditional iconographies were reinterpreted through new printing technologies and evolving aesthetic sensibilities during a period of profound social and political change in colonial India.