Vedic (proto-Hindu) religious literature is replete with references to the Sun God Surya and his many manifestations or aspects. Dating from circa 1500-500 BCE, these early hymns and incantations variously personify the Sun as a golden god, a great bird or eagle, a shining steed, or a spirited bull. In anthropomorphic form as Savit, symbolizing the abstract qualities of the Sun and connected with sacrificial rites, the Sun God is imagined as being made of gold, wearing golden armor, and riding in a golden chariot. The earliest known anthropomorphic representations of Surya in South Asia date from the late 3rd-1st century BCE. The Sun God is depicted as riding in a chariot as he makes his daily circuit across the heavens. The solar chariot is drawn by four horses, which probably reflects Hellenistic influence derived from images of the Greek Sun God, Helios, who was often shown riding a quadriga. Around the 1st century BCE, certain forms of Iranian solar religion were introduced by Zoroastrian worshippers of the Sun and Fire who had migrated to India. Subsequent images of Surya made in the 1st-3rd centuries CE depict him dressed in an Indo-Scythian costume consisting of knee-length boots, a long tunic, trousers, and a waist girdle or chest armor. Surya first holds a lotus bud during this formative phase of imagery.
Rather than replicating these early South Asian prototypes, however, this rare image of Surya generally follows early Southeast Asian conventions in its hairstyle and clothing. He is nimbate and has a distinctive conical hairstyle surmounted by a rounded bulb. Rippled forms projecting from his head are likely flames suggesting his effulgence. He wears a waist-length tailored jacket that recalls the deity’s ancestral Indo-Scythian tunic. But in place of his earlier knee-length boots appropriate for a cold northern climate, here Surya is barefoot appropriate for the tropics and wears a long dhoti. He holds his primary attribute of lotus buds in both hands by their stalk.
For a detailed discussion of this Surya’s stylistic characteristics, see Robert L. Brown, "Sun God Surya," Southeast Asian Art at LACMA: An Online Scholarly Catalogue (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2013). http://seasian.catalog.lacma.org/#section/130/p-130-1
