Seated Ganesha
Culture
Indian
DateGupta period, 600s–700s
Creation PlaceAsia
Mediumsandstone
Dimensions20 cm (7 7/8 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift of Mr. Alexander H. Bullock, Worcester, MA
Terms
Object number1949.56
DescriptionGanesha depicted with a large elephant’s head and plump body. Carved in high relief, with a graceful balance between naturalistic, sensuous swelling volumes and linear articulation, smooth surfaces and ornamentation, exemplifying the classic Gupta style (AD 320-550) of north India. Ganesha sits in a posture of royal ease while his trunk dips into a bowl of sweets held in his lower left hand. His upper left hand holds a lotus while his right hands hold an axe and his severed tusk. His sacred thread, in the form of a snake, is draped over his left shoulder and onto his belly.Label TextGanesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, is the most widely worshipped of the Hindu deities. Regarded as the remover of obstacles and bearer of good fortune and prosperity, Ganesha is worshipped before any important undertaking. In this sculpture, Ganesha is shown with several iconic attributes. In his lower left hand, he holds a bowl of modaka, a type of sweet that the deity is very partial to. The modaka also represents the joys of life as well as the liberation from the cycle of birth and death, to which all Hindus believe they are bound to. In his upper right hand, he carries an axe, representing the cutting of attachments and the removal of obstacles in one’s path. His lower right palm is facing outward in the abhya mudra, or “gesture of protection”. At his feet, is his vehicle (vahana), a small mouse. Carved in high relief, the sensuous, swelling volumes, linear articulation, smooth surfaces, and ornamentation exemplifies classic Gupta style (320–550 CE).ProvenanceMr. Alexander H. Bullock, Worcester, MA
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