This is Krishna standing on a coiled serpent and under the canopy provided by the ten heads of the serpent. Krishna is holding shepherd’s staff across his shoulders, behind his head. Krishna appears relaxed and the serpents appear to be a willing participant in this scene. The serpent is coiled on a Bhadrapeetha.

So far I have not come across any prescribed forms that relate to this. Kaliya Mardana comes close, where Krishna dances on the hood of the serpent, Kaliya. Thanks to the imagination of the artisan we have a delightful piece.

As usual, Krishna is chubby with a paunch and well jewelled. This is meant for home worship.

Going by the ‘find place’ and physical features of Krishna, I think this is from Karnataka. It is about 8 cm in height.

The absence of comparable pieces in published mediums makes it difficult to assign a time period this piece. I have come across just one similar piece, Christie’s Sept 2010 auction, and that is assigned to the 16th century. This bronze may be from the 19th century.  Appreciate the care, effort (Look at the patterns on the back of the hood) and creativity that has gone into making these bronzes as objects of worship.