Four-armed Vishnu / Artist Unknown, India, Rajasthan

Viewer

Actions

file_download Download image 113 x 161 (JPEG) 227 x 322 (JPEG) 454 x 644 (JPEG) 909 x 1289 (JPEG)

About this Item

Record Details

Accession Number
1977/2.49
Title
Four-armed Vishnu
Artist Nationality
Indian
Medium and Support
bronze
Object Creation Date
18th century - 19th century
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
India (nation)
Rajasthan (state)
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
India (nation)
Creation Place 3
Rajasthan (state)
Style/Group/Movement
miniature folk bronze
Dimensions
15.8 cm x 10.5 cm x 8.5 cm (6 1/4 in. x 4 1/8 in. x 3 3/8 in.)
Primary Object Classification
Sculpture
Primary Object Type
figure
Secondary Object Classification
Ritual Objects
Secondary Object Type
figure
Physical Description
Vishnu stands with his legs apart holding his four attributes in his hands. Reading in clockwise direction from his right front hand he holds: his club, discus, conch and lotus, here a rather flat object cupped in his palm. His back two arms are extremely short. The figure is encircled with a decorated arch with a line of beads and triangular shaped openings around them. A stylized sun and moon are to either side of Vishnu’s head. He wears a variety of simple, lumpy jewelry at his feet are a horse to his right and a bull or cow to his left and between them are three rings lying flat on the base. At the front of the base are seven stylized horses, identifying this as a combination figure: Vishnu and the sun god Surya, whose chariot is pulled by seven horses.
Subject Matter
Vishnu is one of the principal gods of Hinduism, along with Shiva and the goddess, and commands a large following. He is often depicted with four arms and consistently carries four attributes: the discus, conch, club and lotus. The addition of the seven horses at the base lets us know that this is a combination of the god Vishnu and the sun god Surya. This is a common combination in iconographies that try to link many of the older nature gods with the fully developed pantheon of Hinduism.
Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Technical Details

Image Size
909 x 1289
File Size
142 KB
Record
1977/2.49
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1977-sl-2.49/1977_2.49.jpg

Rights and Permissions

Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1977-SL-2.49:1977_2.49.JPG

Cite this Item

View the Help Guide for more information.

Full citation
"Four-armed Vishnu; Artist Unknown, India, Rajasthan." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1977-sl-2.49/1977_2.49.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 29, 2024.
Do you have questions about this content? Need to report a problem? Please contact us.