INDIA, LATE KUSHAN OR EARLY GUPTA PERIOD, 3rd/4th CENTURY

The gana, or dwarf figure, is one of the most ancient and most prevalent figures in Indian art. In the Kushan and Gupta periods, dwarf figures (called Yakshas) were closely associated with nature and were paired with Yakshis, their female counterparts who were spirits inhabiting trees. In the medieval period, flying dwarfs (called Gandharvas) were depicted at the upper level of the walls, as if supporting the roofs of towering temples. Throughout time dwarfs have served as the supports to primary deities of the Buddhist and Hindu pantheon, either as attendant figures or as personifications of attributes. This lively and animated pot-bellied dwarf resembles representations of Chakrapurusha, the personified form of Vishnu’s discus or wheel attribute. The small curved segment at the backside of his head could be the lower portion of the discus. As his head is not tilted up or looking in the direction of the main figure Vishnu, as in other examples, however, he may also be the dwarf attendant to another deity, such as Shiva or a goddess. His naturalistic appearance with overhanging belly, rather stocky legs, pouting lips and large pierced circular earrings suggests a late Kushan or early Gupta date, and makes the object a pleasing and important artistic accomplishment of its own accord.