The Gods of War: Sacred Imagery and the Decoration of Arms and Armor
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- Catalogue identifier
- kali-0091
- Alternate titles and import identifiers
- KALI-0091; ISBN 0870997793
- Author or attribution
- Donald J. LaRocca
- Record type
- Book
- Language
- English
- Date / edition
- 1996
- Source / repository
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Access
- Open access
- Subjects
- Kali Library Research Catalogue; Art, Iconography, and Epigraphic Studies; Academic Research and Peer-Reviewed Articles
Description and curator notes
This illustrated museum publication examines the religious imagery carried by weapons and armor. Its discussion of Indian ritual blades is particularly useful for a Kali library: it connects forms of the sacrificial sword and chopper with the goddess, the implements she holds, and the theological significance assigned to destruction. The relevant passages occur within a wider comparative treatment of sacred arms, so the book should be introduced as a material-culture study with a substantial Kali section, rather than as a monograph exclusively about her. Object descriptions, photographs, and a concluding checklist allow readers to connect the interpretation to actual museum holdings. The complete publisher-issued PDF includes the title and copyright pages, the main essay, illustrations, and the final checklist. For the website, the most useful entry point is the discussion on printed pages 6–7, followed by the related object records. The freely downloadable edition remains copyrighted; its availability supports linking and reading, not unrestricted reproduction of its photographs or text.
KALI-0091 — Kali Library Research Catalogue.
Access and reliability assessments below are supplied by the curator's 4–5 November 2026 research release, not a new independent verification.
Author / attribution: Donald J. LaRocca
Publication: The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 1996
47 printed pages; 49 PDF pages; 35 illustrations.
Format / language: Museum research monograph · English
Identifier: ISBN 0870997793
Kali relevance: Documents Kali-associated sacrificial and ritual implements; particularly printed pp. 6–7.
Context: Comparative religious art and arms; Indian Kali imagery is one section.
Subjects: Art, Iconography, and Epigraphic Studies; Academic Research and Peer-Reviewed Articles
Evidence / reliability: Institutional or scholarly secondary source
Access / rights: Complete text checked 2026-11-05. Free to read; copyright retained. Link to the source; no blanket republication permission established.
Source and alternate access links:
Read complete text: https://cdn.sanity.io/files/cctd4ker/production/d156cc58eff578c695aa4d9cd5e18c2e1e866f57.pdf
Source record: https://www.metmuseum.org/met-publications/the-gods-of-war-sacred-imagery-and-the-decoration-of-arms-and-armor
Alternate / related form: https://resources.metmuseum.org/resources/metpublications/pdf/The_Gods_of_War_Sacred_Imagery_and_the_Decoration_of_Arms_and_Armor.pdf
Source access
Read or locate the original source at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Rights and reading conditions
Complete text checked 2026-11-05. Free to read; copyright retained. Link to the source; no blanket republication permission established. This library links to the source and does not reproduce its full text.
Citation
Donald J. LaRocca. The Gods of War: Sacred Imagery and the Decoration of Arms and Armor. The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 1996.
This page supplies catalogue metadata and links. It does not reproduce the underlying source text. Historical, religious, healing and interpretive claims belong to the cited sources, not to an independent verification by this catalogue.