Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Central Java, ca. 9th century CE. An enormous volcanic stone statue of Ganesh, the elephant-headed deity known as the "Remover of Obstacles," who sits atop a tiered lotus base while holding shallow cups in each outer hand. His second set of hands is raised up near his ears, each hand holding a religious implement or weapon, while his trunk droops between his tusks to drink from one of the petite vessels. His head is flanked with large, ornamented ears and topped with an elaborate tiered crown, all framed in front of a nimbus behind his head. Size: 45.27" H (115 cm)

Esteemed as one of the principal deities of the Hindu pantheon, the first son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha is known as the Lord of Plenty or the god of auspiciousness, highly revered as the regulator of all obstacles with the power to create and remove them. Followers traditionally ask for his blessings at the beginning of any new paths or serious endeavors. The origin of his unusual physiognomy, particularly how he came to possess such an unusual head is the source of many legends, the most popular is that one day when Shiva was away from home, Parvati created a human son from her own body. She asked her son to guard the door while she was bathing. Quite unexpectedly, Shiva returned home, and the boy would not allow Shiva to enter his own household. Enraged by this, Shiva cut off the boy's head. Parvati grew quite angry and ordered Shiva to replace his head. Shiva did so with the first living being he encountered: an elephant.

Cf. a bronze example at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1987.142.300; also another stone example at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession number 2003.198. and another very similar example is at The Chicago Institute of Art - #1996.673.br>
Please note that this piece is a dropship item, meaning that it will be shipping from the consignor's location. All information regarding condition, size, stone identification, and metal content have been provided by the consignor.

Provenance: private Constance McCormick (of McCormick Harvesting fame) Fearing collection, Montecito, California, USA collection; ex-private Santa Barbara, California, USA collection, acquired in 1995; ex-Alexander Gotz Ancient Art, London, UK, and imported into the UK in 1994; ex-private Singapore collection, acquired in Indonesia in 1961 and exported to Singapore in 1967. Appraised in 2000 by Sotheby's for $75,000. To be included with sale.

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#179889

As shown. Great preservation to finer details throughout.