Sitarama (GJ)

 

Sitarama GJ

This is Rama and Sita. The identification is by elimination. Most of the Hindu male gods are portrayed with four arms, and only Rama is shown with two hands. The remnants of the Vaishnavite symbol, the V-shape, on Rama’s forehead help in identification.

Sitarama GJ Back

For more details on this iconography please refer to Rama Sita on this site.

This bronze is made using the Ganga Jamuna technique. North Karnataka is one of the two regions where that technique was practised. 

The base suggests this would have been made to slide into a pedestal , and it is quite likely this was a part of the Ram Durbar set. For an example of such a set, refer to the V&A museum. That set is listed under Vishnu and Lakshmi (?).

One thing worth noting is the difference in the patterns of Rama and Sita’s crowns. Such differences are not common.

Going by the wear, Sita’s lower garment and the crowns, this may date to the eighteenth century. Most of Ganga-Jamuna bronzes date to the eighteenth century.

The bronze is solid cast and is quite heavy. It is about 9.5 cm in height. This is from Northern Karnataka /Southern Maharashtra.

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