Bronze Indian Buddhist Sridevi (Lakshmi) Figure. 

Condition: Commensurate with age. 

Size: 1 3/4 x 1 x 4 1/4 in. 

#2305 . 

Lakshmi is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and along with Parvati and Saraswati forms the Tridevi. Whenever Vishnu descended on the earth as an avatar, Lakshmi accompanied him as consort, for example, as Sita and Radha or Rukmini as consorts of Vishnu’s avatars Rama and Krishna, respectively. The eight prominent manifestations of Lakshmi, the Ashtalakshmi, symbolize the eight sources of wealth. Lakshmi is depicted in most Indian art as an elegantly dressed golden woman standing or sitting in the padmasana position upon a lotus throne, while holding a lotus in her hand, symbolizing fortune, self-knowledge, and spiritual liberation. Archaeological discoveries and ancient coins suggest the recognition and reverence for Lakshmi existing by the 1st Millennium BC. In Buddhism, Lakshmi has also been viewed as a goddess of abundance and fortune, and is represented on the oldest surviving stupas and cave temples of the religion. In South India in particular Lakshmi is seen split in two forms, Sridevi and Bhudevi, both at the sides of Venkateshwara, a form of Vishnu. Bhudevi is the representation and totality of the material world or energy, called the Apara Prakriti, or Mother Earth, and Sridevi is the spiritual world or energy simply called the Prakriti. This threesome is often portrayed in art and sculpture, with Sridevi on Vishnu’s right side and Bhudevi on Vishnu’s left.

Commensurate with age.