INDIA, HIMACHAL PRADESH, 12TH CENTURY

Lakshminarayana is a manifestation of the Hindu deity Vishnu depicted together with his consort Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and abundance. Both figures carry the padma or lotus and are supported by their vahana or vehicle, Garuda. The lotus motifs at both the large halo and the lower base echo twelfth-century architectural style from Chamba in Himachal Pradesh. Compare the stepped base and lotiform motif with another bronze group of Lakshminarayana from the collection of Dr. Leo S. Figiel at the Freer and Sackler Galleries at The Smithsonian Museum of Art (acc. no. S1992.2).