Eighteen-Armed Vishnu

Place CreatedIndia, Asia

CultureIndia

Date11th Century

MediumSandstone

Credit LineThe Ester R. Portnow Collection of Asian Art, a gift of the Nathan Rubin-Ida Ladd Family Foundation

Dimensions37 1/2 x 24 x 10 1/2 in. (95.3 x 61 x 26.7 cm)

Object number2001.001.004

Label TextGracefully posed in the triple-bend (tribhanga) posture, Vishnu stands supreme, surrounded by his incarnations (avatars) and holding the weapons of other deities. His front four arms, now lost, likely held his attributes: the conch, the lotus, the discus, and the mace, the base of which is still visible next to his right foot. His other arms hold many weapons, including two associated with the god Shiva, the trident and the skull-headed club (khatvanga). His legs are flanked by smaller standing figures; two hold Vishnu’s discus and conch, personifying those attributes. Vishnu’s vehicle (vahana), the man-bird Garuda, stands to the left of the discus, with wings and a serpent hood.

Six of his avatars frame this impressive form of Vishnu, showing the different ways in which he manifests to restore cosmic order. On the upper left, Varaha, the boar, balances the Earth goddess, Bhudevi, on his knee, having saved her from drowning in the ocean. On the upper right, the man-lion, Narasimha, disembowels the demon-king Hiranyakashipu. From left to right, the seated avatars at Vishnu’s feet are the Buddha, legs crossed in meditation; Vamana the dwarf, holding his parasol; Balarama, Krishna’s snake-hooded, plough-holding brother; and Kalki, the avatar of the future, with his horse.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2004 - April 4, 2021
The Avatars of Vishnu, Michael C. Carlos Museum, April 24 - July 18, 2021
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, August 28, 2021 - Present
Published ReferencesSotheby's New York, Indian and Southeast Asian Art (March 23, 2000), lot 128.
MCCM Newsletter, December 2000 - February 2001.
MCCM Newsletter, December 2004 - February 2005.
Michael C. Carlos Museum: Highlights of the Collections (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2011), 125.

ProvenanceWith North American dealer, until March 23, 2000. Purchased for MCCM by Robert Walzer [Nathan Rubin - Ida Ladd Family Foundation], Georgetown, Connecticut, from Sotheby's New York, sale 7447, March 23, 2000, lot 128.

Status

On view

Collections