Boar Incarnation of God Vishnu (Varaha)

c. 10th century

India
Madhya Pradesh

According to Hindu mythology, when the world began to sink under evil and ignorance, the god Vishnu was incarnated as the boar Varaha. He dived into the cosmic ocean to rescue goddess Earth, who is shown standing at the head of the boar. In this avatar, Vishnu also embodies the infinite nature of the cosmos: rows of gods, sages, and animals are carved upon his back. This type of Varaha would usually occupy its own pavilion facing the main entrance of a temple dedicated to Vishnu.

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

Title: Boar Incarnation of God Vishnu (Varaha)
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: Phyllite
Dimensions: 56 × 79.5 × 29.7 cm (22 1/16 × 31 5/16 × 11 11/16 in.)
Credit Line: James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection. Gift of Marilynn Alsdorf
Reference Number: 2021.200
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/153539/manifest.json

Two Thousand Years of Indian Art, exh. cat. (London: Spink & Son Ltd., 1982), 74 (ill), cat. 51.
Pratapaditya Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, exh. cat. (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Thames and Hudson, 1997), 43 (ill), 281–82, cat. 44.
Joan Cummins, Vishnu: Hinduism’s Blue-Skinned Savior, exh. cat. (Nashville/Ahmedabad: Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Mapin, 2011), 139, cat. 57.

London, Spink & Son, Two Thousand Years of Indian Art, Apr. 6–23, 1982, cat. 51.
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. 44.
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.
Nashville, TN, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Vishnu: Hinduism’s Blue-Skinned Savior, Feb. 20–May 29, 2011, cat. 57; Brooklyn Museum of Art, June 24–Oct. 2, 2011.

With Spink & Son, London, by 1982 [London 1982]; James W. Alsdorf (1913–1990) and Marilynn B. Alsdorf (1925–2019), Winnetka, and Chicago, IL, by 1982 [according to the collecting practices of the Alsdorfs]; 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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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.

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