Unknown
Dancing Ganesha11th century

Not on view

Sandstone relief sculpture of a four-armed, elephant-headed dancing figure with a rotund body, carved in high relief with attendant figures and objects filling the surrounding slab

Sandstone relief sculpture of Ganesha, the elephant-headed deity, depicted in a dynamic seated dance pose with four arms holding attributes including a staff and a cluster of round fruits. Rounded belly prominent, adorned with necklaces and crown, flanked by smaller attendant figures at lower sides and additional figures at upper corners. Weathered surface with rough texture, mounted on a black base.

Stone relief sculpture of a seated, multi-armed elephant-headed deity with a rounded belly, wearing a crown and jewelry, holding attributes including a staff and gesturing with raised hands, against a dark background.

Stone relief carving of Ganesha in close-up, showing the elephant head with downward-curving trunk, decorative crown, and multiple arms holding attributes, rendered in weathered buff-colored stone with textured surface

Stone relief sculpture of a multi-armed, elephant-headed deity in a seated pose, with a rounded belly and necklace, flanked by two small attendant figures at lower left and right, carved in pale sandstone with a weathered surface.

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Dancing Ganesha
Place Made: India, Madhya Pradesh
Date Made: 11th century
Medium: Sandstone
Dimensions: 23 1/4 x 16 x 5 1/2 in. (59.05 x 40.64 x 13.97 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Dr. Alvin O. Bellak, Philadelphia
Accession Number: M.88.221
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: Ganesha is the Indian lord of obstacles. He can remove them as well as place them in one’s path. In this eight-armed representation of Ganesha dancing exuberantly (natyasthana), his two uppermost hands stretch a serpent over his head as a canopy. His principal left hand carries a bowl of sweetmeats (ladhus) from which he is eating with his trunk. His upper left hand carries a ritual staff (khatvanga). His lower left hand is held in a variant of the gesture of charity (varada mudra) with his thumb held across his palm. His principal right hand is held in the ‘fear-not’ gesture (abhaya mudra). His lower right hand grasps the hilt of his battle axe (parashu) and cradles it in the crook of another right arm that may also have held a now-lost rosary (akshmala). Ganesha left tusk is depicted as being broken off because, according to various myths, it was lost in battle, used as a stylus, or as a projectile that he hurled at the moon when it ridiculed him for falling off his rat mount and bursting open his belly overstuffed with sweetmeats. He wears a Brahmanical sacred thread (yajñopavita) over his left shoulder. On the base flanking Ganesha’s feet are celestial musicians (gandharvas) and dancing celestial nymphs (apsarasas) celebrating the auspicious dance. See also M.71.73.143 and M.86.126
Selected Bibliography: El Universo de la India: Obras Maestras del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Angeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, 2012.

Unknown
Dancing Ganesha11th century

Not on view

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Dancing Ganesha
Place Made: India, Madhya Pradesh
Date Made: 11th century
Medium: Sandstone
Dimensions: 23 1/4 x 16 x 5 1/2 in. (59.05 x 40.64 x 13.97 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Dr. Alvin O. Bellak, Philadelphia
Accession Number: M.88.221
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: Ganesha is the Indian lord of obstacles. He can remove them as well as place them in one’s path. In this eight-armed representation of Ganesha dancing exuberantly (natyasthana), his two uppermost hands stretch a serpent over his head as a canopy. His principal left hand carries a bowl of sweetmeats (ladhus) from which he is eating with his trunk. His upper left hand carries a ritual staff (khatvanga). His lower left hand is held in a variant of the gesture of charity (varada mudra) with his thumb held across his palm. His principal right hand is held in the ‘fear-not’ gesture (abhaya mudra). His lower right hand grasps the hilt of his battle axe (parashu) and cradles it in the crook of another right arm that may also have held a now-lost rosary (akshmala). Ganesha left tusk is depicted as being broken off because, according to various myths, it was lost in battle, used as a stylus, or as a projectile that he hurled at the moon when it ridiculed him for falling off his rat mount and bursting open his belly overstuffed with sweetmeats. He wears a Brahmanical sacred thread (yajñopavita) over his left shoulder. On the base flanking Ganesha’s feet are celestial musicians (gandharvas) and dancing celestial nymphs (apsarasas) celebrating the auspicious dance. See also M.71.73.143 and M.86.126
Selected Bibliography: El Universo de la India: Obras Maestras del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Angeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, 2012.