Aid and Trade

Retail Price: $4,399.00 Wholesale Price:     $69.00 Your Profit: $4,330.00

This piece is an exact copy of a 9th century Pala piece found in the book Eastern Indian Bronzes by Lalit Mala Akademi. It is a spectacular work done with the same refined hand as the original. The finishing of this piece is something that will endear an owner all the more to the bronze. After the firing process, the statue has been finished, filed down to the base bronze with no natural coloring. Bronze naturally changes color over time, getting darker as the months pass. This silver-gold coloration will give way to a darker tint over a years time and will continually get darker as the years pass. You will witness the slow transformation of the piece over the years of enjoying this masterpiece bronze. Vishnu is usually depicted in sculpture with two or four arms. Multiple arms indicate Lord Vishnu's omnipresence and omnipotence. In his four hands he holds the sankha (conch), cakra (discus), gada (mace), and padma (lotus). On his chest is the curl of hair known as the srivatsa mark, a sign of his immortality. Around his neck he wears the auspicious jewel Kaustubha. The conch represents Om, the first sound of creation and also the beginning of matter, since sound and matter are considered to be synonymous. The discus is thought to represent the sun. Vishnu, like Shiva, was originally a minor deity with only five out of 1,028 hymns in the Rig Veda addressed to him. He seems to have been derived from a solar deity. The discus is a vestige of his solar origins. Vishnu's weapon, the mace, represents the elemental force from which all physical and mental powers derive. Vishnu holds two maces in this sculpture. A short mace with an elephant with a raised trunk on it in his upper right hand and another larger mace with a copy of the devotee on the right side of the base of the statue. The larger mace is wonderful. Vishnu holds the long slim mace with the grace of an emperor. The Lotus is associated with water, fertility, and the creation myth in which Brahma comes forth from the lotus growing in the navel of the sleeping god Vishnu. Coming out of the back of Vishnu's head are 7 figures. The seven figures represent the innumerable appearances of Vishnu through his avatars. His right front hand is held out giving blessings, in particular, to the devotee sitting on the left hand side of the base of the statue looking up to his Lord. Lord Vishnu has a slight Buddha-smile on his beautiful face, a true testament of the Buddha being the ninth avatar of Vishnu. On his left and right hand side are Lakshmi and Saraswati. Lakshmi is Vishnu's lover and consort. Both are giving blessings to the devotees of Vishnu by holding out their hands. Made of Bangladeshi Bronze cast using the Lost Wax method. Sculpture weighs 28 pounds. Dimensions: 24"H