Ganesha at The Asian Art Museum, San Francisco

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Ganesha is one of the most revered and widely worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon. His image can be found throughout India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, and his worship transcends affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha extends far beyond Hindus, with Jains and Buddhists also revering him. Ganesha's elephant head makes him easily recognizable, despite being known by many attributes. He is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, patron of arts and sciences, and deity of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honored at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as the patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits, explaining his distinct iconography. Ganesha emerged as a distinct deity in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, inheriting traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. He was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism in the 9th century. Ganesha is a popular figure in Indian art, with representations showing wide variations and distinct patterns changing over time. He may be portrayed standing, dancing, heroically taking action against demons, playing with his family as a boy, sitting down or on an elevated seat, or engaging in contemporary situations. Ganesha images were prevalent in many parts of India by the 6th century. The 13th-century statue pictured is typical of Ganesha statuary from 900-1200 CE, featuring some of his common iconographic elements. This statue has four arms, which is common in depictions of Ganesha. He holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. The motif of Ganesha turning his trunk sharply to his left to taste a sweet in his lower-left hand is an archaic feature. Ganesha typically holds an axe or goad in one upper arm and a pasha (noose) in the other upper arm. In rare instances, he may be depicted with a human head. In one modern form, the only variation from these old elements is that the lower-right hand does not hold the broken tusk but is turned towards the viewer in a gesture of protection or fearlessness. The same combination of four arms and attributes occurs in statues of Ganesha dancing, which is a very popular theme. This object is part of "Scan The World", a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory to create a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks, and landmarks from across the globe for public access. Scan the World is an open-source community effort, where anyone can contribute interesting items and email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how they can help. This object was scanned using photogrammetry and processed with Agisoft PhotoScan.