Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Playful Dwarves ("Ganas")
(India, Nepal, and Tibet)
These two pot-bellied dwarves are "ganas," "troops" that attend the Hindu god Shiva. Led by the elephant-headed Ganesha (whose name means "lord of ganas"), they are characteristically playful and rambunctious. In this pair, one gana stuffs his mouth with sweets while the other tries to grab one for himself, even reaching to snatch the morsel held between his companion’s teeth. Hand-modeled with incised details, this terracotta panel would have once been inserted into the wall of a brick temple.
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.
Spink & Sons, Ltd., London; purchased by John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, 1987; given to Walters Art Museum, 2003.
Exhibitions
| 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. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 6/27/2017 | Examination | Repaired for exhibition |
| 6/27/2017 | Examination | A small chip on the proper right figure's eyebrow (.5 x .5 cm) was filled and inpainted using easily reversible materials. |
Geographies
India, Uttar Pradesh (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 10 × W: 12 1/16 × D: 4 5/16 in. (25.4 × 30.6 × 10.9 cm); Block H: 1 3/16 × W: 12 1/2 × D: 4 5/16 in. (3 × 31.7 × 11 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2003
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.
25.251