Unknown
A Solar Deitycirca 700

Not on view

Small bronze sculpture of a seated four-armed deity with an animal head and ornate crown, flanked by smaller crouching figures on a tiered base, with a deep olive-brown patina

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: A Solar Deity
Place Made: India, Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir region
Date Made: circa 700
Medium: Stone
Dimensions: 4 1/2 x 3 1/4 x 1 1/2 in. (11.43 x 8.25 x 3.81 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Neil Kreitman
Accession Number: M.85.289.1
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: Although it cannot be determined conclusively which solar deity the sculpture represents, an iconographic analysis suggests that it depicts the Sun God Surya or one of the Twelve Adityas (Dvadasha Adityas) corresponding to the twelve lunations in a solar year. The Adityas are the sons of the Vedic (proto-Hindu) goddess Aditi (Boundless), the personification of the infinite cosmos. The bearded figure wears a trilobe tiara, necklace, ear ornaments, the Brahmanical sacred thread (yajñopavita) over his left shoulder, and the long coat and boots (khapusa) characteristic of the so-called "northern attire" (udichya vesha) inherited from Iranian solar imagery. He is four-armed. The principal hands are now detached but originally may have held lotuses. His upper left hand may hold a floral garland (see M.81.25 and M.83.105.1). His upper right hand holds the handle of a now-broken attribute, perhaps a mace (gada). He is enthroned on a lion throne with his feet pendant in the so-called European posture (pralamba padasana). The visage is heavily effaced from the application of ritual unguents. See also M.79.99, M.81.99, M.84.223.2, and M.86.94.1.
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Sculpture, vol.1. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1986.

Unknown
A Solar Deitycirca 700

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: A Solar Deity
Place Made: India, Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir region
Date Made: circa 700
Medium: Stone
Dimensions: 4 1/2 x 3 1/4 x 1 1/2 in. (11.43 x 8.25 x 3.81 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Neil Kreitman
Accession Number: M.85.289.1
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: Although it cannot be determined conclusively which solar deity the sculpture represents, an iconographic analysis suggests that it depicts the Sun God Surya or one of the Twelve Adityas (Dvadasha Adityas) corresponding to the twelve lunations in a solar year. The Adityas are the sons of the Vedic (proto-Hindu) goddess Aditi (Boundless), the personification of the infinite cosmos. The bearded figure wears a trilobe tiara, necklace, ear ornaments, the Brahmanical sacred thread (yajñopavita) over his left shoulder, and the long coat and boots (khapusa) characteristic of the so-called "northern attire" (udichya vesha) inherited from Iranian solar imagery. He is four-armed. The principal hands are now detached but originally may have held lotuses. His upper left hand may hold a floral garland (see M.81.25 and M.83.105.1). His upper right hand holds the handle of a now-broken attribute, perhaps a mace (gada). He is enthroned on a lion throne with his feet pendant in the so-called European posture (pralamba padasana). The visage is heavily effaced from the application of ritual unguents. See also M.79.99, M.81.99, M.84.223.2, and M.86.94.1.
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Sculpture, vol.1. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1986.