This is Shiva and Parvati, on Shiva’s vahana Rishab.

The diminutive Parvati, with her hands in Anjali mudra, is sitting on Shiva’s lap. Shiva is securing her place with his lower left hand.

Shiva is holding Trishul and a drum in his rear hands. One of the interesting aspects of this bronze is the cobra protecting each of those two attributes. Another interesting aspect is Shiva wearing padukas.

The robust and well-decorated Rishab is standing on a large rectangular platform. The contrast between the detailing of Rishab and the deities and the bare platform is stark.

Parvati’s hair arrangement, the central fold of her lower garment, and Shiva’s tiered conical crown show Maharashtrian influence.

In Tamil Nadu, this bronze would have been called Rishbhamurthy. But I went with the local name, Umamaheshwara, as found in the book ‘Goan divinities in Metal – A study of bronzes of Goa’ by Dr Rohit Phalgaonkar. A highly recommended book, and I hope to publish a review of the book soon.

This Umamaheshwara may be dated to the nineteenth century, and it is from the North Deccan. It is about 25 cm tall.

There is another Umamaheshwara from this region on my blog site. That example is closer to the Nagara style or classical style.