Dimensions: Height 50 cm Wide 20 cm Depth 14 cm

Weight: 5211 grams

The sun god Surya is shown standing in samabhanga upon a high pedestal, mounted on a richly adorned elephant with detailed harness and ornaments. The four-armed deity makes añjali mudrā (gesture of reverence) with his principal hands before the chest, while his upper hands raise the radiant solar disc above his head, emphasising his role as the personification of the sun. He wears a tall headdress surmounted by a small figure, along with necklaces, armlets, and a beaded girdle with flowing sash.

Behind rises a grand prabhāmaṇḍala, edged with curling flame motifs and topped by a fierce kīrtimukha mask. The side panels are incised with diamond lattice patterns, framing the figure in an architectural setting. The elephant mount, standing firm on a square base with further incised decoration, symbolises both earthly and cosmic strength.

The bronze has a warm golden-brown patina with areas of green oxidation, testifying to age and ritual use.

Surya is one of the oldest deities of the Hindu pantheon, praised already in the Vedic hymns of the Rigveda. Worship of the solar deity flourished particularly in medieval and early modern India, associated with royal power, health, and protection. Images of Surya are often installed in temples facing east to greet the rising sun, and daily rites to the solar god were believed to bestow prosperity and ward off illness. His iconography is distinguished by the radiant halo or solar disc, often held aloft, and by his regal bearing, sometimes shown in a chariot drawn by horses or, as here, enthroned upon a mighty elephant.