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recto overall
Yoga-Narashimha, the Man-Lion form of Vishnu
recto overall
recto overall

Yoga-Narashimha, the Man-Lion form of Vishnu

Former TitleKevala-Narasimha
CultureIndian
Date12th century
MediumBronze
DimensionsOverall: 19 3/8 × 10 3/8 × 10 inches (49.21 × 26.35 × 25.4 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number63-2
On View
On view
Gallery Location
  • 228
Description
Exhibition History

Master Bronzes of India, The Art Institute of Chicago, September 3-October 10, 1965; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, October 21-November 30, 1965; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, January 18-February 27, 1966; Asia House Gallery, New York, October 12-December 11, 1966, no. 31 as Vishnu as the Man-lion (Yoganarashima).

Gallery Label
Narasimha (man-lion) is an incarnated form of the Hindu god Vishnu who appeared as an avatar on Earth to defeat a specific demon-king. Many images of this deity depict him in the act of disemboweling his victim. Here, however, he has been presented in a peaceful attitude, seated in a yogic posture ready for meditation, with a yoga band supporting his knees. He holds Vishnu’s usual symbols, a wheel and conch.
Provenance

With J. J. Klejman, New York, by October 24, 1962-1963;

Purchased from J. J. Klejman by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1963.

Published References

Art Institute of Chicago and William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Master Bronzes of India, exh. cat. (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1965), unpaginated, (repro.).

The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, “Checklist of Acquisitions 1962-1966,” The Nelson Gallery & Atkins Bulletin, 4, no. 8 (1967): 47.  

Ross E. Taggart and George L. McKenna, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. 2, Art of the Orient, 5th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 132, (repro.).

Denise Lardner Carmody and John Tully Carmody, Ways to the Center: an Introduction to World Religion, 3rd ed. (Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1989), 106, fig. 14, (repro.).

Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, eds., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection (New York: Hudson Hills Press, in association with Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993), 385, (repro.).

Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 268, fig. 36, (repro.).



Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.


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