A holy man with two tigers

Illustration of a proverb, c. 1860-65. There are two conflicting interpretations of this baffling picture. One is that ‘you cannot propitiate a tiger by prayer’. The other says – ‘before a truely godly spirit even the wildest beasts of the forest are tame’. Two fully grown tigers holding offerings make obeisance to a holy man. Note a meek dove in the foreground bearing its own offering of a fruit in its beak

Watercolour and graphite on paper

Overview

Creator :

Anonymous

Collection :

Wellcome Collection

Date :

1800s

Rights :

CC BY

CC 0
CC BY SA
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