Page 5 - Bonhams, Indian and Himalayan Art New York July 23, 2020

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A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF GANESHA A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF GANESHA
TAMIL NADU, NAYAK PERIOD, 17TH/18TH CENTURY KERALA, CIRCA 16TH CENTURY
3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm) high 3 3/8 in. (8.5 cm) high

$4,000 - 6,000 $10,000 - 15,000
Seated Ganesha appears to have somewhat outgrown the lotus Heavy in the hand and rich in copper, this bronze depicts beloved
throne he teeters on. One considers the prospects for the diminutive Ganesha, his four arms holding an elephant goad (ankusha), a
rat joining him at the foot of the base to effectively carry his master. noose (pasha), his broken right tusk, and a ball of ladoo. Ganesha’s
In any case, the elephant-headed god is known as the “Remover of enthusiasm for their sweet, buttery taste is conveyed by his broad
Obstacles” and extends his trunk to sample more of the sweet ladoo smile, the animated coil of his trunk, and his rounded belly.
he so loves.
The bronze is depicted in the sculptural tradition of 14th-to-16th
Compare stylistically with other small votive bronzes of Ganesha from century Kerala, as characterized by the enthusiastic ornamentation
the Nayak period in the Victoria & Albert Museum (IM.76-1914) and and busy splendor seen in the striations of his fluttering ears, bell-like
sold at Christie’s, Paris, 12 June 2012, lot 314, and Bonhams, New anklets, the alert hooded cobra which wraps around him, and the
York, 20 March 2018, lot 3225. sash between his legs almost splashing onto the lotus petals below.
Compare to a Keralan Ganesh in the Siddharth K. Bhansali Collection
Provenance (Pal, The Elegant Image, New Orleans, 2011, p.185, no.102).
Private Newport Beach Collection, acquired 1962
Private West Coast Collection since 2008 Provenance
Private Newport Beach Collection, acquired 1962
Private West Coast Collection since 2008

INDIAN, HIMALAYAN & SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART | 3