This is Ganesha, remover of obstacles. Normally, Ganesha’s Sannidhi is the first one you encounter in a temple.

Ganesha is holding a broken tusk, a battle axe, a noose and a Ladoo in his hands. Clockwise, starting from the lower right-hand. He is seated in lalitasana. His vahana, a rat, is on the Padmapeetha.

As usual, his belly is ample and prominent, and it is restrained by the Cobra, used as a belt.

Ganesha is one of the widely available bronze Vigrahas. Other widely available Vigraha include Hanuman, Mahishasuramardhini/Durga and Krishna. In this example, the presence of prabhavali (attached) and the size make it rarer.

This Vigraha shows considerable age, in terms of ritual wear, accumulation of worship-related material and deep patina.

This is probably from Tamil Nadu and may date to the 18th century if not earlier. It is about 11 cm in height.

6 Nov 2020: A Raja Ravi Varma chromolithograph of Ganesha. This was printed by Ravi Varma Press, Lonavala. The print is about 14″ by 10″.