Vishnu, the Hindu God of Preservation, is portrayed in this 7th-century Nepalese sculpture as riding the sunbird Garuda, his half-avian, half-human mount (vahana). Vishnu squats on the shoulders of Garuda, who supports his feet. Vishnu is crowned and four-armed. His upper right hand holds his discus (chakra), while his upper left carries his mace (gada). His lower right hand holds the fruit of knowledge (jñana palam), while his lower left carries a conch (shankha). Garuda’s tail feathers are depicted fanlike to form an aureole (prabhavali) behind Vishnu, who is also given a plain circular nimbus. Stylistically, the inflated volumes used in depicting Vishnu’s body derive from the Mathura school of sculpture created during the northern Indian Gupta Dynasty (4th-6th century). See also M.77.65.2, M.77.154.12, and M.86.247.2.
