The god Vishnu

8th century

In southern India, temples developed niches that tend to fill the full height of the wall, unlike the shorter niches on structures further north. This imposing image of Vishnu seems like it should have been the focus of worship in a temple’s sanctum, but more likely the sculpture inhabited an important but subsidiary location—a niche at the center of an exterior wall. The shallow carving and minimal detail are typical of sculpture from southeastern India where granite was the primary stone available.

Granite

62 1/4 x 23 1/2 x 9 7/8 in. (158.1 x 59.7 x 25.1 cm)

Overall height: 68 in. (172.7 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

69.13

Provenance: [William H. Wolff, Inc., New York]; purchased from gallery by Seattle Art Museum (Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection), 1969

Photo: Paul Macapia

Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.

Published References"Selected Works." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1991, p. 144

Cummins, Joan, editor. Vishnu Hinduism's Blue-Skinned Savior. Frist Cente for the Visual Arts, 2011, p. 64

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM