LACMA

ShopMembershipMyLACMATickets
LACMA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
info@lacma.org
(323) 857-6000
Sign up to receive emails
Subscribe
© Museum Associates 2026
  • About LACMA
  • Jobs
  • Host An Event
  • Unframed
  • Press
  • FAQs
  • Log in to MyLACMA
  • Privacy Policy
© Museum Associates 2026
Collections

Unknown
The God Agni9th century

Not on view
Bronze sculpture of a four-armed seated deity with blue-green patina, framed by a flame-shaped aureole, holding staffs and a lotus bud
Bronze sculpture of a seated deity with elaborate crown and multiple arms, set against a flame or foliage aureole, with an animal figure at the base; heavily corroded green-gray patina with rough surface texture.
Bronze sculpture of a multi-armed deity seated in lotus position within an arched prabhavali with flame-like borders, heavily corroded surface with green patina throughout.
Bronze sculpture of a seated deity figure with elaborate crown, one hand raised in a gesture, backed by a flame-shaped aureole rising from a tiered base; heavily corroded green-black patina, photographed in three-quarter profile.

Unknown, The God Agni, 9th century, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence R. Phillips, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Artist or Maker
Unknown
Title
The God Agni
Place Made
India, West Bengal or Bangladesh
Date Made
9th century
Medium
Copper alloy
Dimensions
8 1/4 x 4 1/2 x 3 in. (20.95 x 11.43 x 7.62 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence R. Phillips
Accession Number
M.81.275
Classification
Sculpture
Collecting Area
South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes

Agni, the Vedic (proto-Hindu) and later Hindu God of Fire, is represented here with a beard, potbelly, the ascetic’s piled hair of a Brahman, minimal jewelry, and two arms. His right hand holds a rosary. His left hand carries an ascetic’s waterpot. He is seated in the relaxed posture (lalita asana) on a cushion and throne base with his left leg pendant and his right leg originally supported by a now-missing pericarp of a lotus flower (karnika). In the center of the base is Agni’s goat mount (aja vahana). The back of the sculpture is unfinished with casting sprues still remaining.

Agni served an auxiliary function as a directional guardian (dikpala) in which he was the Divine Regent of the Southeast. He is also the presiding deity of the month Jyeshtha (May-June).

See also M.79.189.8 and M.87.272.1.

Selected Bibliography
  • Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Sculpture, vol.2. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1988.