The Hindu Goddess Shri Lakshmi

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The Hindu Goddess Shri Lakshmi

India, Kerala, 16th century
Sculpture
Copper alloy
14 x 4 5/8 x 3 in. (35.56 x 11.75 x 7.62 cm)
Gift of Mrs. Harry Lenart in honor of the museum's 40th anniversary (M.2005.73)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

This exceptional copper alloy (bronze) sculpture from the modern Indian state of Kerala represents the Hindu goddess Shri Lakshmi, the consort of the god Vishnu....
This exceptional copper alloy (bronze) sculpture from the modern Indian state of Kerala represents the Hindu goddess Shri Lakshmi, the consort of the god Vishnu. The two-armed goddess stands on a lotus pedestal within a mandorla that extends to her shoulder height. Lakshmi wears a tall crown with a lotus bud finial, splayed cascading locks adorned with floral terminals, and a small nimbus shaped like a pipal leaf or heart. She is profusely adorned with jewelry and wears a striped skirt with cascading pleats and a flaring sash. Her physiognomy includes large open eyes with carefully delineated eyelids and eyebrows, an aquiline nose, pointed chin, closed lips with a slight smile, and a devotional marking on her forehead. She carries an attribute with a lotus bud in her right hand. The image was once part of a triad, likely formed with Vishnu and another of his wives. This is indicated by several iconographic clues: the slight tilt of the goddess’ head and vertical axis towards the now-missing central figure of Vishnu, her eyes gazing to the left towards Vishnu, and the empty socket on the back of the sculpture into which the tang of a separately cast halo (prabhamandala) that united the three images. As postulated by Mary Beth Coffman Heston (Archives of Asian Art, 2004), the sculpted and painted figural types of Kerala demonstrate a hyperextension of the lower back and full breasts thrust forward that replicate the distinctive physique of Kerala’s Kathakali dance performers.
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Bibliography

  • Pal, Pratapaditya. The Divine Presence: Asian Sculptures from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Lenart. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1978.