INDIA, RAJASTHAN OR MADHYA PRADESH, 7TH/8TH CENTURY

Surya, god of the sun, is among the most ancient of Hindu deities, stemming from earlier Vedic tradition. Almost always wearing a tall crown and backed by an elaborate nimbus reminiscent of sun rays, he is regal in posture and ornamentation. Certain traits in the present example - such as the scarf tied like a cape around the shoulders and the band of mail along his chest - not only identify him has Surya, but are distinctive to his stylistic and iconographic treatment in northern Indian representations from Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh.