Vishnu Stele, four-armed Vishnu with two of his attributes personified / Artist Unknown

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Record Details

Accession Number
2003/1.385
Title
Vishnu Stele, four-armed Vishnu with two of his attributes personified
Artist Nationality
Indian
Medium and Support
black schist
Object Creation Date
circa 10th century
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
India (nation)
West Bengal (state)
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
India (nation)
Creation Place 3
West Bengal (state)
Dimensions
129.4 cm x 60.96 cm x 28.58 cm (50 15/16 in. x 24 in. x 11 1/4 in.)
Century
10th century
Primary Object Classification
Sculpture
Primary Object Type
statue
Secondary Object Classification
Sculpture
Secondary Object Type
architectural element
Physical Description
Vishnu stand in a strict unbending pose, samabhanga and has four hands. Reading clockwise from the front right hand, he holds lotus, a club, a discus and a conch. The lotus and conch are also personified with full standing figures at the base below his tow front hands, the lotus as a female figure to his right and the conch as a male figure to his left. On the pointed arch behind the figure a flying figure holding garlands is carved in shallow relief to either side of his crown. He wears a diaphanous lower cloth, the folds of the garment are articulated with a flared section down the center. He wears a long garland down to his knees, a sacred thread and various pieces of jewelry, including bracelets, armlets, a necklace and large earrings and an elaborate crown.
Subject Matter
Buddhism flourished in northeast India under the Pala dynasty, but most of the Pala kings were followers of the Hindu god Vishnu, whose role as preserver and sustainer of the cosmos accorded well with ideals of royal duty. This impressive stele shows Vishnu in his form as universal king: he wears an elaborate crown and jewelry, and carries four weapons: the gada (a club or mace), the cakra (a discus), the shankha (a conch-like shell), and the padma (lotus).
At his feet appear two figures who are personifications of the two attributes (anthropomorphic representations of his signature weapons). The female is Padmadevi, a goddess who is the personification of the pure lotus, and the male is Shankapurusha, a personification of the trumpetlike shell.
The figure of Vishnu has an idealized youthful body, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and an expression of perfect serenity.
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. Sometimes, as in this case, two of his attributes are personified at the base. Gender of the weapon reflects the gender of the personified figure.
Primary Keywords
hinduism
vishnu
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Technical Details

Image Size
977 x 1938
File Size
252 KB
Record
2003/1.385
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2003-sl-1.385/2003_1.385.jpg

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"Vishnu Stele, four-armed Vishnu with two of his attributes personified; Artist Unknown." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2003-sl-1.385/2003_1.385.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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