Description
The Hindu god Vishnu took the form of a boar to rescue his wife Bhu (Earth in Sanskrit) from the bottom of the primordial ocean, where she had been hidden by a demon. Here shown with the head of a boar and the powerful lunging body of a warrior, Varaha holds out one of his four elbows as a seat for the earth goddess who he has rescued.
Provenance
(Adrian Maynard Oriental Art, London, UK, sold to John and Maxeen Flower); Dr. John and Maxeen Stone Flower [1928-2010], Shaker Heights, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art (?-2011); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2011-)
Accession Number
2011.148
Medium
sandstone
Dimensions
Overall: 82 x 68.5 x 33.5 cm (32 5/16 x 26 15/16 x 13 3/16 in.)
Classification
Stone
Credit Line
Gift of Maxeen and John Flower in honor of Dr. Stanislaw Czuma