GANESHA

It is a small image of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god, son of Shiva and Uma, and very popular in both India and Nepal for being considered the bearer of good luck. In this representation he appears with four arms holding his barely recognizable attributes, among which are usually the broken tusk, the battle axe and the bowl with sweets. He wears a crown with radial decoration (which could have its origin in the deformation of the primitive halo) and a very high oval nimbus. It has the prominent belly characteristic of this divinity, the trunk is curved to the right, and sits in maharajalilasana, relaxed position, on a square throne, taking a static air characteristic of the icon as opposed to the dynamic posture in which it appears on other occasions. The casting, as well as the representation of the details is rather crude, and of the type of the works produced in the western Himalayas, probably in Himachal Pradesh. There are abundant examples attributed to this area with the same iconography. R.C.M. / Extracted from: Isabel CERVERA FERNÁNDEZ: Fundación Rodríguez-Acosta. Asian Art Collection. Granada, 2002. Bibliography: COMAS, R.: The art of the Himalayas in the Spanish collections: the bronzes. Madrid, 1993, p. 356.