Hanuman (Bell finial)

 

Hanuman in Anjali mudra

A beautifully cast Hanuman in Anjali mudra. The incision is kept to a minimum, just for delineation of toes and hair arrangement.

Hanuman in Anjali mudra right

See the side view below. Shows him slightly bent forward, adding to the effect of Anjali mudra.

This probably was finial of a handbell, much used and worshipped piece. Now he is standing as a decoration attached to an ashtray. Talk about cultural sensitivity. After some thought, I decided to leave it as it is.  Bit of history. Ashtrays are becoming ‘extinct’ anyway.

Hanuman in Anjali Mudra Left

Note the neck chains, earrings, the gap between earrings and neck, the flowing nature of his raised tail, the weight on his right leg and the delicate work around his waist. All this is cast.

The bronze is about 10 cm in height. He is much worn and copper-rich. He is almost certainly from Tamil Nadu and may date to the sixteenth century.

25 Jan 2017: Comments from DB, a fellow collector.

“I have just looked at your Hanuman and don’t think it was from a bell. I have quite a few detached bell handles including a couple of Hanumans, one standing and one sitting. In almost all cases there is a substantial handle below, cast in one piece with the figure, typically round, often with ridges. Another tell-tale feature of bell handles is that the legs tend to be more worn than the face because that is where they were held.
 
Your Hanuman looks better than a bell handle version. I think the disc base was originally hammered into a separately cast typical south Indian base.”

 

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