515 - CUTE SEATED BRONZE GANESHA INDIA 18TH CENTURY

CUTE SEATED BRONZE GANESHA INDIA 18TH CENTURY Dimensions: Height 5 cm Wide 3,8 cm Depth 2,7 cm Weight: 80 grams A small seated bronze Ganesha with a particularly rounded, approachable character. The deity sits cross-legged on a rectangular base with lotus-petal ornament, his long trunk sweeping in a broad curve across the front of the body. Four arms rise closely around him, while a small animal form at the lower side appears beside the base. The modelling is soft and compact, and the warm brass-brown surface is polished on the trunk, hands, knees and other projecting details. Ganesha's popularity in domestic devotion owes much to this combination of recognisable iconography and human warmth. He is revered as remover of obstacles and patron of beginnings, learning and prosperity, yet his elephant head, generous belly and often relaxed seated pose give him an unusually accessible visual presence. In a miniature such as this, that quality becomes especially immediate. The charm of the bronze lies in its economy. Instead of elaborate openwork or sharply separated attributes, the sculptor has compressed crown, ears, arms, trunk and seated body into a single compact mass. The result is a small image with considerable tactile appeal, made to be handled and viewed from close range.