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A GILT COPPER ALLOY SHRINE TO DANCING GANESHA
NEPAL, DATED 1849 CE
With a dedicatory inscription around the base naming the donors and dated Nepal Samvat 969
(1849 CE).
Himalayan Art Resources item no.48052
17 3/4 in. (45 cm) high

$30,000 - 50,000
尼泊爾 1849年 銅鎏金舞姿象神像

Set before a flaming aureole, Ganesha extends his legs in how the dancing attitude
(natyasthana) is depicted in Nepal. Two little lotus-borne rodents are underfoot like a pair of
skates. His four arms are cast in a balanced array, his hands holding typical attributes: a set of
mala beads, an axe, his broken right tusk, and a bowl of sweets he is sampling with his trunk.
Fabulously dressed, Ganesha wears a tall, plumed crown like the principal dancer at one of the
Great Gatsby’s parties.

On the subject of Dancing Ganesha, Grewal writes:

“[Ganesha dancing] is possibly inspired by the image of Shiva as the divine dancer.
But while Shiva’s dance is of cosmic significance incorporating creation and destruction,
Ganesha’s does not carry such weighty consequence. His is a more playful version, almost
rambunctious, appropriate for the mischievous ganas, associated with fun and frolic,
whom Ganesha leads. Indeed, the ganas are often portrayed cavorting and playing musical
instruments to accompany Shiva’s dance. Some myths present Ganesha dancing before his
parents to entertain and divert them. Dance, in many cultures, is, of course, a form of prayer
which creates a heightened consciousness and elicits energies that call forth the divinity within
the self.”
(Grewal, Book of Ganesha, New Delhi, 2012, p.130).

Nepalese depictions of Dancing Ganesha differ from those found in India. For example, he is
shown with both feet on the ground or on a pair of rodents, rather than with one foot in the
air. Nepalese depictions also do not dwell on the spectacle of how Ganesha frolics despite
his huge belly, instead giving him a smaller potbelly and a more athletic overall physique.
Compare several Nepalese stone steles of the subject published in von Schroeder, Nepalese
Stone Sculptures, Vol.I, Weesen, 2019, pp.316-7, nos.101A-H. Among them, a c.18th-century
stele (no.101E) has a similar crown with thin, tall leaves. Also, whereas Indian images often
emphasize Ganesha’s love of sweets, Nepalese images focus on his ability to grant boons,
depicting wish-fulfilling gems (cintamani) similarly shaped to those being nibbled on by the
rodents beneath his feet. It is also common for Nepalese Dancing Ganeshas to wear a garland
of gems; while no garland is worn here, there is an incised band of circles bordering the hem of
his lower garment, evoking such iconography along with the grape-like clusters found over his
shins.

Published
Gautama V. Vajracharya, Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Ritual, New York, 2016, pp.151, 153 &
154, no.48.

Exhibited
Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Ritual, Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 6 May 2016 — 27 March
2017.

Provenance
Collection of John & Karina Stewart, by 2005

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