Bronze statue - Garuda

Central or Northern India, early 20th century. Height approximately 138mm.

The intricately cast and carefully finished bronze statue depicts Garuda. Garuda (Sanskrit: Garuḍa, Pāli: Garuḷa, Vedic: Garuḷa) is a mythical creature in Hindu and Buddhist mythology, the vehicle (vahana) of the god Vishnu, and a mythical sun bird whose birth and life are recounted in the Mahabharata. He is also known as Tarkshya and Vainateya.

Garuda is often depicted in his zoomorphic form (a large bird with massive wings, sharp claws on its feet, large eyes on its head, and a beak full of sharp teeth) or as an anthropomorphic human figure with wings and hawk-like features. Garuda is the son of Kashyapa and Vinata, and the younger brother of Aruna.

Garuda's home is in the Himaphan forest at the foot of Mount Meru. He is described as the king of birds (Khagesvara). Garuda is also described as "the one with beautiful feathers" (Suparna), "the radiant" (Sitanatha), "the god of heaven" (Gaganeswara), "the golden one" (Suvarnakaya), and "the enemy of snakes" (Nagantaka). Garuda's worst enemy is the snake-like Naga. In traditional art, Garuda is often depicted fighting a snake. Garuda is the emblem of Indonesia and Thailand.