Vishnu with two attendants / Artist Unknown, India, Kashmir
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1970/2.146
- Title
- Vishnu with two attendants
- Artist Nationality
- Indian
- Medium and Support
- bronze with silver inlay
- Object Creation Date
- 9th century
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- India (nation)
- Jammu and Kashmir (state)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- India (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Jammu and Kashmir (state)
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase, Acquisition Fund
- Dimensions
- 20 cm x 11.7 cm x 5.5 cm (7 7/8 in. x 4 5/8 in. x 2 3/16 in.)
- Century
- 9th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Sculpture
- Primary Object Type
- figure
- Secondary Object Classification
- Ritual Objects
- Secondary Object Type
- figure
- Physical Description
- Vishnu stands with a slight sway to his body with his right hip thrust out, the tribhangha of “thrice bent pose.” He has four hands to carry his attributes, his front two hold a lotus bud and a conch. The back two hang down and rather than carry his two weapons are placed on personified figures of them. At is right is the personified club and on his left his discus. He wears a diaphanous lower cloth that is so sheer, it appears almost invisible, only the folds of the garment are articulated. He wears a long garland down almost to his feet and a sacred thread to his waist. He also wears various pieces of jewelry, including armlets, large earrings and an elaborate crown. The whole is quite worn due to the way the image has been handled by devotees, who have touched it and applied various substances to it. His eyes had been inlayed with silver to add a certain realism to the piece.
- 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.
- Kashmiri bronzes are renowned for their aesthetic and technical brilliance. This elegant figure of Vishnu is a fine example of Kashmiri craftsmanship, which often includes silver inlay. Vishnu stands with a subtle tribangha or “thrice-bent” sway to his body. As usual, he has four hands, the front two holding the conch and a lotus bud while the back two hang at his sides, seemingly presenting the two small attendant figures. The attendants in this case are not Vishnu’s consorts, but anthropomorphic representations of his signature weapons: the female Gadadevi, on his right, represents the club, while the male Cakrapurusha, on his left, represents the discus. The gender of the weapon reflects the gender of the personified figure.
- Over the centuries, the surface of the image has been worn down by devotees who lovingly stroked it or anointed it with butter or pastes of aromatic substances, such as turmeric or sandalwood.
- Secondary Keywords
- asia (continent)
- asian
- associated concepts
- descriptors
- geographic and political locations
- hindu
- named gods and goddesses
- object genres
- object genres by material
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by state or condition
- religion
- religions
- religions and religious concepts
- south asian
- styles and periods
- styles and periods by region
- subject matter
- 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
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 737 x 991
- File Size
- 57 KB
- Record
- 1970/2.146
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1970-sl-2.146/1970_2.146.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
- In public portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1970-SL-2.146:1970_2.146.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Vishnu with two attendants; Artist Unknown, India, Kashmir." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1970-sl-2.146/1970_2.146.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 15, 2024.
