Bronze statue - Garuda, pair

Bronze statue - Garuda, pair

Central or Northern India, early 20th century. Height approximately 150mm. Sold as a pair.

A pair of elaborately cast bronze statues depicting a 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 told 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 one" (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.