Vishnu thumbnail 1
Vishnu thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
South Asian Sculpture, Room 47b

Vishnu

Relief Panel
12th Century (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Bengal (made)

The god, a major focus of bhakti yoga, the yoga of personal devotion, is shown with benign countenance and his right hand in varada mudra, the gesture of bestowal. He bears his attributes of club, wheel, and conch and is supported by his consorts Lakshmi, bearing a fly whisk, and Sarasvati, who holds a vina, a sitar-like musical instrument. Smaller supporters bear the conch and wheel attributes upon their heads, their hands raised in abhaya mudra, the gesture of protection. Mythical creatures are carved in low relief on the throne.


Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Hinduism
India Museum
Object type
Relief panel
TitleVishnu (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Black Shale
Brief description
Relief Panel of Vishnu and Consorts, black shale, 12th century, Bengal, Eastern India
Physical description
The god, a major focus of bhakti yoga, the yoga of personal devotion, is shown with benign countenance and his right hand in varada mudra, the gesture of bestowal. He bears his attributes of club, wheel, and conch and is supported by his consorts Lakshmi, bearing a fly whisk, and Sarasvati, who holds a vina, a sitar-like musical instrument. Smaller supporters bear the conch and wheel attributes upon their heads, their hands raised in abhaya mudra, the gesture of protection. Mythical creatures are carved in low relief on the throne.
Dimensions
  • Height: 121.7cm
  • Width: 61.7cm
  • Depth: 24.9cm
  • Including modern mount height: 123.5cm (Note: the mount adds slightly to the display height)
  • Width of modern base width: 62cm (Note: object is 0.3 cm narrower at proper right than modern base)
  • Total display depth on modern mount depth: 50.7cm (Note: modern mount is 47.8 cm deep but the object protrudes 2.9 cm forward from the front of the mount.)
Style
Pala
Gallery label
Vishnu 1100–1200 Pala period In Hinduism there are many gods.Vishnu, preserver of the cosmos against the forces of evil, is one of the most popular deities. He is a major focus of Bhakti yoga, the path of devotion to a personal god. Here he is shown with his right hand in the gesture of bestowal (varada mudra). He also holds a wheel, conch shell and club (now damaged). Black shale Eastern India or Bangladesh (Bengal) Museum no. 933(IS) (06/06/2011)
Subject depicted
Hindu
Bibliographic reference
Haworth-Booth, Mark; Indian Sculpture: A Travelling Exhibition, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 1971 No. 12
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
933(IS)

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Record createdApril 4, 2002
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O64550/vishnu-relief-panel-unknown/
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