Bronze Ganesh Statue Playing Flute 38"

The chubby Ganesh is light on his feet with his legs bent springing about on his chubby yet shapely legs.  He has four arms, two of which hold a flute. A flute is usually a instrument played by Krishna.  Ganesh, like Krishna affirms life by celebrating in its wonders, music being one of these.  In his other two hands he holds a noose and axe.  His trunk is raised straight up symbolizing good luck.  The casting is beautiful as you can see in the fine details of the fingers and toes.  Each detail is rendered perfectly. 

The statue has some verdegris patina which is typical of bronzes.  The green can easily be removed with coconut oil should you not like the appearance.  The base has two holes that are used by the faithful in India to put two poles through the base of the Ganesh sculpture and carry it around in procession before it is placed into the inner sanctum of the temple.  Hindus believe that the actual god lies within all statues of the diety.  Only by physically seeing the god "darshan" is a Hindu able to experience the god.  Therefore the gods are often carried around the temple for all people to see and experience in the presence of the god.

The chubby, gentle, wise, elephant-headed Ganesh, or Ganesha, is one of Hinduisms most popular deities. He is the remover of obstacles, the deity whom worshippers first acknowledge when they visit a temple. He is also patron of letters and of learning; he is the legendary scribe who, using his broken tusk, which he often holds, wrote down parts of the Mahabharata epic. Ganesh is usually depicted colored red; he is pot bellied, has one tusk broken, and has four arms that may hold a pasam, a goad, and a pot of rice or sweetmeats. The sweet meats are held in a type of bowl known as a laddus. His appetite for these sweets is legendary and offerings of them are often left at his shrine.

Statues of Ganesh can be found in most Indian towns. His image is placed where new houses are to be built; he is honored at the start of a journey or business venture, and poets traditionally invoke him at the start of a book.

A pasam is a triple twine weapon. Each of the three twines represents, arrogance and conceit, Maya - the illusory nature of the real world, ignorance. In Hindu ideology weapons are a viewed as symbolic tools to destroy the ego rather than to cause any type of bloodshed. Goads (or elephant prods) are typically used to direct elephants. Goads are symbolic of how one should steer the soul away from the ignorance and illusions of this earthly world just as a mahout would steer an elephant away from any treacherous path.

Bronze is an extremely durable metal made from a combination of 5 metals; copper, iron, tin, with minute additions of silver and gold.  This combination is called Panchaloha bronze and is the basis for making the sacred Hindu temple statues of India and the world.  Copper is the most prevalent metal in the alloy.  Copper also gives the metal a softer composition that allows the bronze artisans to carve the details that are prevalent in each piece.    All the South Indian bronze sculpture Lotus Sculpture carries are Panchaloham and thus suited for any home altar or community temple.

Because of the durability of the metal not much is needed to maintain a bronze sculpture.  Many of our customers purchase a bronze statue and perform daily puja and abhisheka consisting of bathing the Hindu deity in ghee, milk, coconut milk or other liquids.  In this case nothing is needed to keep the statue clean as it will be bathed daily.  If the sculpture is used for "darshan" or simply viewing the sculpture it is best to dust the statue as needed so no dirt collects in the details of the sculpture. For both polished golden bronzes and antique patina bronze statues if you would like the sculpture to shine use a cotton cloth with some coconut oil or other natural oil to wipe down the piece as needed.

Many of our bronze Hindu statues have been placed in outdoor temples.  Bronze's durability makes it perfect for cold winters and hot summers of any climate.  We suggest you bathe the sculpture every couple of months so that dirt does not collect on the sculpture and then use a cotton cloth with some natural oil to give the statue a shine.  Both indoors and outdoors a bronze statue can be left alone which, overtime, will give the bronze an antique patina.

On some bronze statues you can see small hints of lime green, verde-gris patina.  Some people prize this color for its age others want to remove it.  If you would like to remove the verde-gris use a tooth brush with some coconut oil or other natural oil and lightly go over the verde-gris.  This should remove the unwanted patina from the sculpture.

If you have any questions concerning your bronze statue please email us at info@lotussculpture.com or call us at 1(760) 994-4455.

USA Shipping

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This sculpture is in our Oceanside, California store and ready for immediate packing. Shipping is calculated from Oceanside, California after the purchase. This piece is too heavy to ship via UPS ground and will be shipped using R&L Freight Carriers. Approximately 3 working days are needed to pack the sculpture in its own custom wood crate. If you place your order online shipping will show in the order as $0. Shipping will be calculated based on the weight of the sculpture and the distance from Oceanside, CA to determine the shipping price. Shipping will then be added to the total after the order is placed. Please call 760-994-4455 or email us info@lotussculpture.com for a shipping quote.

International Shipping

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This sculpture is in our Oceanside, California store and ready for immediate packing. Shipping is calculated from Oceanside, California after the purchase. This piece is too heavy to ship via UPS ground and will be shipped using an international freight service. Typically we use TNT Special Services as they give the most competitive rates. Approximately 3 working days are needed to pack the sculpture in its own custom wood crate. If you place your order online shipping will show in the order as $0. Shipping will be calculated based on the weight of the sculpture and the distance from Oceanside, CA to determine the shipping price. The shipping quote will be emailed to you and no charge will be made without your approval. Shipping will then be added to the total after the order is placed. Please call 760-994-4455 or email us info@lotussculpture.com for a shipping quote.