Nataraja Posture (Dancing) Four-Armed Lord Ganesha (Ganpati) Pendant

Lord Ganesha is cast in the round in a Natraja dancing pose, one knee lifted and the weight carried on the standing leg, so the figure reads through movement rather than symmetry. The elephant head is modelled with the ears spread wide to either side and a ribbed trunk that runs down the centre and curls back around a small round modak. Four arms open from the body: one raised with the palm turned out, one carrying a looped attribute, and the lower pair drawn in at the waist.

The dhoti is worked in close parallel ribbing with a chevron band at the hip and a star punch struck into the front panel, and the same punch is repeated on the forehead. Oxidation is left in the ribbing, the ears and the punch marks while the trunk, the belly and the shoulders are polished back, so the piece gathers light along its raised planes and holds shadow in the modelling.

The crown tapers to a small loop at the top of the head and a wide round jump ring passes through it in place of a formal bail, so the figure hangs upright and square to the chest. The ring is generous enough to take a heavier chain or a leather cord.