Twenty-Armed Dancing God Ganesha, Remover of Obstacles

10th century

India
Madhya Pradesh

One of India’s most popular gods, Ganesha is the son of the god Shiva and goddess Parvati. According to one story of his birth, his mother used flakes scraped from her own skin to create him to serve as a guardian. When Shiva returned and found a stranger barring his way, he flew into a rage and unwittingly decapitated his son. Upon realizing his error, he sent his attendants to fetch the head of the first creature they encountered. They returned with an elephant’s head that Shiva used to bring Ganesha back to life.

Status: On View, Gallery 141
Department: Arts of Asia

Title: Twenty-Armed Dancing God Ganesha, Remover of Obstacles
Place: Madhya Pradesh (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 901 CE–1000
Medium: Sandstone
Dimensions: 67.6 × 42 × 21 cm (26 5/8 × 16 1/2 × 8 1/4 in.)
Credit Line: James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection. Gift of Marilynn Alsdorf
Reference Number: 2021.199
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/148369/manifest.json

Vishakha N. Desai and Darielle Mason, eds. Gods, Guardians, and Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India A.D. 700–1200 (New York/Ahmedabad: The Asia Society Galleries in association with Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., 1993), 167–9, pl. 17.
Pratapaditya Pal, “May the Immeasurable Wealth of Your Dance Fill My Consciousness: Dancing Deities of India,” Orientations 28, no. 7 (Jul./Aug. 1997): 34–5, fig. 13.
Pratapaditya Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, cat. (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Thames and Hudson, 1997), 62 (ill.), 287–288, cat. 72.
Madhuvanti Ghose, “Mediaeval Masterpieces: Indian Sculpture of the 9th to 13th Century,” Orientations 42, no. 3 (Apr. 2011): 26–31, fig. 3.

New York, NY, Asia Society Galleries, Gods, Guardians, and Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India A.D. 700–1200, Mar. 31–Aug. 15, 1993; Kansas City, MO, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Oct. 10–Nov. 28, 1993.
Art Institute of Chicago, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Aug. 2–Oct. 26, 1997, cat. 72.
Memphis, TN, The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Realm of the Gods: Masterpieces of Indian Sculpture from The Art Institute of Chicago and The Alsdorf Collection, Apr. 30–July 23, 2000, no cat. no.

With Spink & Son, London, by Apr. 26, 1985 [this and the following according to invoice from Spink & Son, Apr. 26, 1985; copy in curatorial object file]; sold to James W. Alsdorf (1913–1990) and Marilynn B. Alsdorf (1925–2019), Winnetka and Chicago, IL, Apr. 26, 1985; by descent to Marilynn B. Alsdorf, Chicago, 1990 [on long-term loan at the Art Institute of Chicago, July 15, 1997; publicly promised as a gift to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1997; signed a promised gift agreement for the work, 2002]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2021.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.