Skip Navigation

Stele with Vishnu, His Consorts, His Avatars, and Other Dieties

Asian Art

On View: Asian Galleries, Arts of South Asia, 2nd floor
This icon depicts Vishnu flanked by his consorts, avatars, and other deities. Not all ten of the avatars are present. Striding Varaha the boar is at the top left, with the man-lion Narasimha below him, while the top two figures on the right appear to be Balarama with his plow and Rama with his bow and arrow. The other small figures include the god Brahma (portly and carrying a squarebowled spoon at the bottom left), two Vishnus, and another, unidentified deity. How to interpret this mix of avatars, additional Vishnu images, and Brahma is unclear.
MEDIUM Schist
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS
DATES 11th century
PERIOD Pala Period
DIMENSIONS 48 x 20 3/4 x 5 in., 192 lb. (121.9 x 52.7 x 12.7 cm, 87.09kg)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS Asian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER 1991.244
CREDIT LINE Gift of Dr. David R. Nalin
PROVENANCE Prior to 1991, provenance not yet documented; by 1991, acquired by Dr. David R. Nalin of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 1991, gift of Dr. David R. Nalin to the Brooklyn Museum.
Provenance FAQ
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Asian Galleries, Arts of South Asia, 2nd floor
CAPTION Stele with Vishnu, His Consorts, His Avatars, and Other Dieties, 11th century. Schist, 48 x 20 3/4 x 5 in., 192 lb. (121.9 x 52.7 x 12.7 cm, 87.09kg). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. David R. Nalin, 1991.244. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1991.244_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 1991.244_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
 <em>Stele with Vishnu, His Consorts, His Avatars, and Other Dieties</em>, 11th century. Schist, 48 x 20 3/4 x 5 in., 192 lb. (121.9 x 52.7 x 12.7 cm, 87.09kg). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Dr. David R. Nalin, 1991.244. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1991.244_SL1.jpg)