Boar Incarnation of God Vishnu (Varaha)

Art Institute of Chicago

Boar Incarnation of God Vishnu (Varaha)

IndiaLinkedCulture matchlcp-1953a76f7207

Date
c. 10th century
Medium
Phyllite
Culture
Madhya Pradesh
Department
Arts of Asia
Institution
Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID
153539

When cosmic order is imperiled, Vishnu descends to earth in different avatara s (incarnations) to restore it. Varaha, Vishnu’s boar incarnation, is the third of ten such avatara s. After the demon Hiranyaksha hides the earth in the primeval ocean, Varaha bores beneath the waters and rescues her, emerging triumphantly with the earth goddess Bhudevi on his tusk. Varaha’s porcine body is covered with rows of sages, animals, and other beings indebted to his beneficence. Vishnu’s signature attributes—the chakra (discus), shankha (conch), and gada (mace)—appear by the boar’s feet. Boar images of Varaha made across central India were often housed in independent shrines facing the main entrance of temples dedicated to Vishnu.

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Credit line
James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection. Gift of Marilynn Alsdorf
Provenance
With Spink & Son, London, by 1982 [London 1982]; James W. Alsdorf (1913–1990) and Marilynn B. Alsdorf (1925–2019), Winnetka, and Chicago, IL, by 1982 [according to the collecting practices of the Alsdorfs]; by descent to Marilynn B. Alsdorf, Chicago, 1990 [on long-term loan at the Art Institute of Chicago, July 15, 1997; publicly promised as a gift to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1997; signed a promised gift agreement for the work, 2002]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2021.

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Object type
AAT300301253

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