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Indian

Vishnu as Rama, ca. 1100

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

Indian

Title

Vishnu as Rama

Year

ca. 1100

Medium

Black stone

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • Stone

Techniques

  • carved

Dimensions

82 x 48.5 x 18 cm (32 5/16 x 19 1/8 x 7 1/16 inches)

Place

India; Bengal

Type

  • Sculpture

Credit

Gift of the Sofro Family

Object Number

63.060

Projects & Publications

Publications

A Handbook of the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Asian Art Galleries

This relief fragment was created to adorn a niche in the walls of a Hindu temple. The fine-grained stone, typical of the Bengali region, allowed for the carving of ornate details and precise lines. The god Vishnu is depicted with lavish jewelry and an elaborate hairstyle, the “sacred thread” falling from his left shoulder to right waist, all reminiscent of Indian royalty and the upper castes. The chakra, or wheel, symbolizes the cycle of creation and destruction; Vishnu maintains balance in the universe. He is accompanied by Lakshmi, the goddess of good fortune, with a flywhisk in hand, and the river goddess Sarasvati, with a vina, a musical instrument.

Rockefeller Asian Art Gallery

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Vishnu as Rama with the accession number of 63.060. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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