This antique bronze votive plaque of the Hindu god Virabhadra depicts him flanked by his Daksha & Bhadrakali. This plaque dates to the 18th century. Virabhadra stands in his classic tribhanga pose with four arms holding a sword, shield, mace, and bow. A lingam can be seen left of his head and a Nandi bull to the right. A cobra head above a yali head can be seen at the top of the plaque. 

Virabhadra is an incarnation of Shiva manifested when his wife, Sati was humiliated and sacrificed herself on a pyre. Enraged, Shiva tore his hair out and from that, the warrior hero god Virabhadra arose. He cut off the head of Sati's father, Daksha, and replaced it with the head of a ram. Daksha later became a devotee of Virabhadra and can be seen standing on the left. The right attendee is his consort Bhadrakali.

This plaque is from the Deccan plateau in South India where Virabhadra became popularly worshipped in the face of the expansions by Islamic sultanates into South India threatening Hindu states. Virabhadra is often seen as a protector of Hinduism.

A similar example can be found on page 303 of Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum: Art from the Indian Subcontinent

Dimensions:

11.5 x 2 x 18 (wxh cms)

From India

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