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Orissa, 19th Century
Bronze
Height: 5.5 in (14 cm)
Width: 4 in (10 cm)
Depth: 3.25 in (8 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY


A folk bronze image of Gajalakshmi, the goddess of wealth and plenitude, seated on an hourglass‒shaped pedestal in what appears to be lalitasana (a seated posture of ease). She is four‒armed and holds a spherical object in her lower right hand and a conch in her lower left hand. She holds two elephants in her upper hands, as the elephants bathe her. Her exaggerated bodily proportions are represented by a rather large face, prominent breasts, and a very thin waist. She wears a three‒leaf crown, necklace, earrings, armbands, bangles, a wide girdle, and anklets. The elephants are said to have two meanings attached to them. Firstly, Indian poetry equates them with clouds and says that they shower the earth with rain wherever they go, making the land fertile. They emphasise Lakshmi’s association with the fertility of crops, while the grains are regarded as a form of Dhanya Lakshmi. Secondly, elephants are indicative of royal authority. Here, their presence performing the abhisheka (ceremonial bathing) may be interpreted as bestowing the qualities of fertility and royal authority on Lakshmi herself, the source of these very qualities. The depiction of the goddess supporting the elephants as they stand on the lotuses held in her upper hands is unique to Odisha and is not seen in Gajalakshmi images from other regions.

Orissa, 19th Century
Bronze
Height: 5.5 in (14 cm)
Width: 4 in (10 cm)
Depth: 3.25 in (8 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY


A folk bronze image of Gajalakshmi, the goddess of wealth and plenitude, seated on an hourglass‒shaped pedestal in what appears to be lalitasana (a seated posture of ease). She is four‒armed and holds a spherical object in her lower right hand and a conch in her lower left hand. She holds two elephants in her upper hands, as the elephants bathe her. Her exaggerated bodily proportions are represented by a rather large face, prominent breasts, and a very thin waist. She wears a three‒leaf crown, necklace, earrings, armbands, bangles, a wide girdle, and anklets. The elephants are said to have two meanings attached to them. Firstly, Indian poetry equates them with clouds and says that they shower the earth with rain wherever they go, making the land fertile. They emphasise Lakshmi’s association with the fertility of crops, while the grains are regarded as a form of Dhanya Lakshmi. Secondly, elephants are indicative of royal authority. Here, their presence performing the abhisheka (ceremonial bathing) may be interpreted as bestowing the qualities of fertility and royal authority on Lakshmi herself, the source of these very qualities. The depiction of the goddess supporting the elephants as they stand on the lotuses held in her upper hands is unique to Odisha and is not seen in Gajalakshmi images from other regions.