Accession Number
1979/2.38

Title
Vishnu

Artist(s)
Indian

Artist Nationality
Indian (South Asian)

Object Creation Date
16th century - 18th century

Medium & Support
bronze

Dimensions
13 3/16 in x 8 1/4 in x 6 3/8 in (33.5 cm x 21 cm x 16.2 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Leo S. Figiel and Dr. and Mrs. Steven J. Figiel

Label copy
The features that identify Vishnu are almost universal across India: he is crowned and robed as a king and has four arms, which hold a club, a lotus bud, a discus, and a conch. Beyond that, however, artists could and did alter deities’ jewelry and costumes to reflect local fashion; and they frequently changed the proportions and even the emotive impact of an image. In this case a bronze caster from Kerala, a state on the southwest coast of India, imparted an imposing dignity to the small image with the addition of a flaming halo, topped by a fierce kirtimukha (a demon-like head, known as the “face of glory”).
Exhibited in "Divine Encounters, Earthly Pleasures: Twenty Centuries of Indian Art," 12/12/03-2/22/04.

Primary Object Classification
Sculpture

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
Hinduism
Named Gods and Goddesses
Vishnu