Artwork Page for Vishnu

Details / Information for Vishnu

Vishnu

650–700

Cambodia

Medium
sandstone
Measurements
Overall: 49.9 cm (19 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1942.563
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
243 Indian and Southeast Asian
Print
?

Did You Know?

The deity is four-armed with the arms running parallel from the shoulders and then bifurcating at the elbows.

Description

Vishnu has the features of royalty, indicated by the high mitre-like crown with the flat top, distinctive to types made at the site of Prasat Andet. His status as a god, greater than any earthly king, is indicated by the four arms, traces of which are still visible. The sensitive rendering of the eyes and slight smile are characteristics of Cambodian sculpture, and during this early period, the form of the body reveals some relatively naturalistic musculature and treatment of the garments. He wears the Southeast Asian lower garment called sampot, around which his upper garment is loosely tied. It is Vishnu who incarnates himself into the world in avatars, including Krishna and the boar Varaha. Here we see his iconic form as Vishnu himself.
Grey-brown, coarse textured sandstone sculpture of the god Vishnu, broken off just below the waist, from the left shoulder, and the right arm just below the elbow, from where two arms would branch. Vishnu wears a cylindrical cap, has elongated ears, and smiles faintly. Finely carved lines indicate wrapped cloth around the waist, below the god's slim bare chest and broad shoulders.

Vishnu

650–700

Cambodia

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Shop the CMA Store

    Shop More Art

    Contact Us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.