The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 7, 2026

A gold pendant features a chain of discs connecting a crescent top depicting a seated deity to a teardrop-shaped ornament. At its center, the sun god Surya sits in a chariot flanked by two attendants. Red, green, and blue stones create patterns across the surface, framed by rows of pearls. Bunches of pearls and flat gold discs hang from the base, forming a shimmering fringe beneath the central divine scene.

Forehead Pendant with Sun God Surya in a Chariot with Attendants

1600s or 1700s

Nepal, Kathmandu Valley

gold set with jewels and semi-precious stones
Overall: 8 x 4.6 cm (3 1/8 x 1 13/16 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade 1915.337
Location: 237 Himalayan

Did You Know?

The golden figure below the Sun God is the Dawn, driving the five-horse chariot across the sky.

Description

This pendant was made to hang on a sculpture of a deity under worship in a Nepalese temple. The image of the Sun God, venerated by both Buddhists and Hindus, is carved in translucent golden stones set into a framework of gold wire.He holds two lotuses with emeralds in the center.
  • ?-1915
    Mr. Jeptha Homer Wade II [1857-1926] and Mrs. Ellen Garretson Wade [1859-1917], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1915-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Materials of the Artist. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 4-December 12, 1958).
    Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916).
  • {{cite web|title=Forehead Pendant with Sun God Surya in a Chariot with Attendants|url=false|author=|year=1600s or 1700s|access-date=07 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1915.337