
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
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Sold for US$31,250 inc. premium
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International Director
While Ganesha may not be the primary deity for most Hindus, he receives special reverence among followers of the Mahaganapatya sect of Maharashtra and South India. In the former, eight pilgrimage temples near Pune, known as the Ashta Vinayaka, commemorate and preserve the evidence of Lord Ganesha's passage through the land in the mythic past, spreading good and vanquishing evil. For them, this cosmic form of Ganesha with ten arms holding various attributes, generally associated with other Hindu deities, effectively expresses the sentiment of Ganesha as the Supreme Deity, creator of Brahma and the universe, and as a transformational meditational deity. His consort, Pushti, sitting on his knee, personifies Prosperity.
The ensemble is completed by an exuberant openwork aureole terminating with blazing suns. The bronze compares favorably to related examples formerly of the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection sold at Christie's, New York, 22 March 2011, lots 43-4, finer than the first and more elaborate than the second. An even more closely related example sold at Christie's, London, 29 October 1981, lot 157 depicts the couple in the same seated posture.
Provenance
Private American Collection, acquired in London, 1970s