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Copyright © 2008 AncientSculptureGallery.com. All rights reserved.
Bronze cold cast of Ganesha statue sculpture
Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Date: 15th century
Ganesha, also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh and also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the
best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India. Hindu
sects worship him regardless of other affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to
Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify.
Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord
of Obstacles (Vighnesha, Vighneshvara), patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom.
He is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters during writing
sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his
distinct iconography.
After the defeat of the Cambodian Khmer Empire in 1431, the Thai kingdom, centered on the capital city of
Ayudhya, became a dominant polity in mainland Southeast Asia. Our sculpture is a reproduction of the Thai
original Seated Ganesha statue from the 15th century and now in the Museum’s collection. The original
statue depicts the deity seated in a cross-legged yogic posture on a raised pedestal with a decorated
molding. The Hindu god of auspiciousness and eliminator of obstacles, Ganesha is popularly accepted as
the first son of the god Shiva and his companion Parvati. How he came to have his unusual head is the
subject of many stories. According to one of the most common, once, when Shiva was away, Parvati created a
human son from her body and asked him to guard the door while she bathed. Shiva returned home
unexpectedly, and, when the boy refused to let him in, cut off his head. Enraged, Parvati insisted that Shiva
replace her son’s head. He did so with that of the first living being he saw—an elephant.
Item No. S110
Bonded bronze, hand patinated. Height including base 12 1/2 in., width 7 in., depth 5 1/2 in.
$300.00
Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Date: 15th century
Ganesha, also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh and also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the
best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India. Hindu
sects worship him regardless of other affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to
Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify.
Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord
of Obstacles (Vighnesha, Vighneshvara), patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom.
He is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters during writing
sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his
distinct iconography.
After the defeat of the Cambodian Khmer Empire in 1431, the Thai kingdom, centered on the capital city of
Ayudhya, became a dominant polity in mainland Southeast Asia. Our sculpture is a reproduction of the Thai
original Seated Ganesha statue from the 15th century and now in the Museum’s collection. The original
statue depicts the deity seated in a cross-legged yogic posture on a raised pedestal with a decorated
molding. The Hindu god of auspiciousness and eliminator of obstacles, Ganesha is popularly accepted as
the first son of the god Shiva and his companion Parvati. How he came to have his unusual head is the
subject of many stories. According to one of the most common, once, when Shiva was away, Parvati created a
human son from her body and asked him to guard the door while she bathed. Shiva returned home
unexpectedly, and, when the boy refused to let him in, cut off his head. Enraged, Parvati insisted that Shiva
replace her son’s head. He did so with that of the first living being he saw—an elephant.
Item No. S110
Bonded bronze, hand patinated. Height including base 12 1/2 in., width 7 in., depth 5 1/2 in.
$300.00
