Ganesha Copper Alloy Khmer, Koh Ker Period

A figure of a seated Ganesha wearing a short pleated dhoti crossing over at the front and forming a semi-circular overhang hiding the belt, and at the back the ends of the fabric tuck beneath the belt and form the conventional fan-shaped terminal. He is four-armed holding, clockwise from lower right, his broken tusk, a disc, the handle of possibly a battle axe and a sweet. He wears a diadem which encircles his head and a conical, layered mukuta.

Ganesha, according to the Mahabarata, is decapitated by Shiva in a fit of jealousy and then penitently given the head of the first living creature to cross his path. He became the god of prosperity and the 'remover of obstacles' and because of his benevolent nature is extremely popular. The style of the mukuta, the bulbous forehead and slender trunk date this piece to the 10^th century and extant Ganesa figures from this period are rare.