Ganesha
Unknown Artist
c. 1070
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
50.8 × 25.4 × 17.8 cm · base: w. 23 cm, d. 18.3 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Katharine Holden Thayer
Accession Number
1970.62
About this artwork
Ganesha, the god of wealth and abundance, is an auspicious and revered Hindu deity. He removes obstacles and protects his worshipers. Numerous myths explain how Ganesha became an elephant-man composite, but the most popular version relates the story of how he was decapitated by his enraged father, Shiva, and restored to life through the intervention of his mother, Parvati. Shiva agreed to revive him with the head of the first creature encountered: an elephant. Ganesha's strength—his profound spi...