INDONESIA, CENTRAL JAVA, 10TH CENTURY

Details

A small bronze figure of Ganesha
Indonesia, Central Java, 10th Century
The elephant god seated on a round cushion over a stepped square base, holding his goad and rosary in his upper hands and his tusk and a bowl of sweets in his lower hands, his belly protruding over the waistband of his dhoti, the face with a third eye and humorous expression as the trunk reaches into the bowl, the hair piled high and secured with a tiara, backed by a round mandorla topped by a small chattri
4 5/8 in. (11.7 cm.) high

Provenance

Christian Humann, Pan-Asian Collection, before 1977

Literature

P. Pal, The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection, 1978, cat. no. 123, p. 200.

Exhibited

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1977, The Sensuous Immortals, cat. no. 123

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Lot Essay

Ganesha is seated in a typical Indonesian position with the soles of his feet joined. Despite its small size, the sculpture is highly detailed. His torso is encircled by a snake in place of a sacred thread, the textiles of the cushion and dhoti are embellished with diaper patterns, and he is associated with his father, Shiva, by the crescent moon and skull in the center of his headdress.

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