Enthroned Planetary Deity
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This mustached figure, like its companion (cat. no. 155), sits in royal ease (rajalilasana) and wears a heavy multitiered crown and circular ear disks styled as radiating flowers. The pedestal is decorated with a grotesque mask (kirttimukha) in foliage, in the Javanese style. The original setting of these figures suggests they are either directional guardians (dikpalaka) or planetary deities (navagraha). Contextual evidence from the ground plan and archaeological remains at the site provide sufficient evidence to support their identification as navagraha, the planetary deities referred to in the monastery’s foundation inscription as providing protection to the sacred center.
cat. no. 156
cat. no. 156
Artwork Details
- Title: Enthroned Planetary Deity
- Date: third quarter of the 9th century
- Culture: Central Vietnam
- Medium: Sandstone
- Dimensions: H. 35 7/16 in. (90 cm); W. 16 1/8 in. (41 cm); D. 15 3/8 in. (39 cm); Wt. 294 lbs. (133.4 kg)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Lent by Museum of Cham Sculpture, Da Nang, Vietnam (3.5)
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art