This small bronze figure is Krishna as a chubby child (Bala-Krishna) dancing on one leg. He holds in his right hand a ball of butter stolen from his mother and looks happy about it. Krishna is one of Vishnu’s avatars and is hugely popular.  A pan-Indian Hindu deity.

Krishna is dancing, standing on the slightly bent left leg, with the right leg raised and placed on a lotus bud. The left arm is stretched out (pataka) while the right hand holds out a pat of butter towards the viewer. Krishna is naked, wearing only a girdle, anklets, bracelets, necklace, armlets and earrings. His hair is pulled back and tied into a bun.  The rear of the head has Sirachakra, a sign of divinity.  He is wearing the sacred thread, more clearly visible from the back.

All these details in a figure of about 5.4 cms height. It is from Karnataka. The seller had estimated that the bronze was from the 16th to the 17th century.