Mar 14, 2025
Deer-Crocodile Composite Creature (Astrological Sign of Capricorn)
c. 1810-20
Made in India (Kangra, Himachal Pradesh)
Opaque watercolor on paper
On display at Philadelphia Museum of Art 2010-1/6-1
“This Indian composite creature, which combines the head and front legs of a blackbuck (also known as the Indian ante-lope) with the torso and back legs of a crocodile and the tail of a fish, represents Capricorn, the tenth sign of the zodiac corresponding to December-January.
The astrological sign of Capricorn is sometimes depicted as a half-goat, half-fish creature originating from Greek myth but this particular image derives from the makara, a legendary creature in Hindu mythology.“
