Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.

Ganesha

Central Vietnam

Not on view

This four-armed form of the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati is among the most sophisticated early Cham sculptures. Ganesha is represented as the embodiment of the asceticism exemplified by his father, displaying the third eye on his forehead and wearing the tiger skin of an ascetic sage (rishi). It was recovered from a temple at My Son; the original pedestal remains on site. My Son served as the religious center of the Cham city of Simhapura (Tra Kieu). The scale of this work bears witness to a cult that assumed a prominence not seen in Ganesha’s native India.

cat. no. 100

Ganesha, Sandstone, Central Vietnam

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.