A simple village folk art from South Tamil Nadu, known after the major city Pudukottai of the region. Here you see two worshippers, the male figure with his hands in Anjali mudra and the woman holding flowers as offering to the deity.
I have come across these bronzes in ‘unorganised market’. The exhibition catalogue Art of the Indian Subcontinent From Los Angeles Collections, prepared by J L Davidson. (Item 157 and page 102). The examples in that catalogue are attributed to the
16th century. Art from the Indian Subcontinent, Norton Simon Museum by Pratapaditya Pal has several examples.
These folk bronzes are almost two-dimensional bodies and have rather elongated features. They are characterised by simple drapery and simple ornaments.
These may not be a pair, the designs of the base differ. They are presented here together due to the theme and their origin. Their back is not worked on.
They are about 9.5 cm in height and are solid cast. These may date, at best, to the eighteenth century.