Seated Ganesha

India, Odisha

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 251

This image of Ganesha envisions the Hindu god as a plump child with an elaborate hairdo and an ornamented dhoti (waist cloth). As the son of Shiva and Parvati, he controls obstacles—their invention and their removal. He grasps an elephant goad and snakes in his two upraised hands. His lower hands hold his broken tusk and a pot of sweets. Intimate in scale and intricately detailed, this sculpture served as a cherished object of personal devotion.

#7994. Seated Ganesha

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Seated Ganesha, Ivory, India, Odisha

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