Surya, the sun god

ca. 10th century

In this stele Surya, the sun god, is flanked on either side by his wives, Rajñi and Nisprabha. They, in turn, are accompanied by two vidyadharas, or celestial beings, and two figures of dawn that drive away the darkness with their bows and arrows. At the base are Surya's seven horses led by the charioteer Arua at Surya's feet. Between Surya and Arua is an earth goddess. Floating above in the upper regions of the stele are gandharvas, or semi-divine heavenly beings.

Black stone

36 x 20 x 5 in. (91.44 x 50.8 x 12.7 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

45.59

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistoryLos Angeles, California, Los Angeles County Museum, "Art Of Greater India", 1950 (1950)

Portland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum, "Gift to a City: Masterworks from the Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection in the Seattle Art Museum", cat. # 79

Published ReferencesChanda, R.P., MED. "Indian Sculpture" 1936, p. 66, pl. XX.

Seattle Art Museum, "Annual Report 1945", p. 8, fig. 1, ill. p. 23

Los Angeles County Museum, "Art Of Greater India", cat. 1950, No. 48, p. 28

"Handbook, Seattle Art Museum: Selected Works from the Permanent Collections." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1951, p. 27 (b&w)

"Gift to a City" exhibition catalogue. Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 1965, cat. no. 79

Seattle Art Museum, Washington, "Asiatic Art", Trubner, Henry, Rathbun, William, Kaputa, Catherine, 1973, p. 95

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