Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Padmapurusha, the Personified Lotus of Vishnu
(India, Nepal, and Tibet)
Wearing one lotus in his headdress and holding another in his hand, this pot-bellied figure personifies the lotus (padma) of the god Vishnu. Carved to stand alongside a larger-scale image of Vishnu, he would have tilted his head toward the god. As a flower that rises above the mud from which it grows, the lotus is a symbol of purity and is associated with creation and renewal.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Doris Wiener Gallery, New York City [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, December 1968, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2008, by gift.
Exhibitions
| 2011 | Vishnu: Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn. |
| 2001-2003 | Desire and Devotion: Art from India, Nepal, and Tibet in the John and Berthe Ford Collection. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque; Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham; Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong. |
Geographies
India, Madhya Pradesh (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 20 1/4 × W: 8 1/4 × D: 5 1/8 in. (51.5 × 21 × 13 cm); Base H: 2 3/8 × W: 9 1/16 × D: 5 9/16 in. (6 × 23 × 14.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2008
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
25.258