MAAAT-QN-SNG-001OBJECT RECORD — GENERAL CATEGORY

GANESHA OF CANDI SINGASARI

The figure is seated frontally, legs folded (a posture akin to lalitāsana), set against an arch-shaped backslab (prabhā), likely fitted into a temple niche. Head, ears and tusk: Elephant head rendered in the round, with large flat ears close to the head and a visible tusk on one side; features consistent with the naturalistic rendering of the elephant typical of Javanese sculpture of the Singhasari-Majapahit period. Crown (karaṇḍa-mukuṭa): A headdress of several superimposed registers, decorated with a sequence of small carved skulls/faces — the same cranial motif that recurs on the throne — following the decorative scheme catalogued by Pott for the whole group of Javanese "demonic Ganeshas"

Origin: Candi Singasari, Singosari, Malang
Period: Late 13th century (Singhasari kingdom period, c. 1222-1292), plausibly datable to the reign of Kertanagara (r. 1268-1292)
Provenance: Candi Singasari, Singosari, Malang

Related archive records1

MAAAT-QN-RESTIT-SNG-001 · DocumentTHE RESTITUTION OF CANDI SINGASARIFour andesite sculptures from the Singasari temple: Durga (RV-1403-1622), Mahakala/Mbakala (RV-1403-1623), Nandishvara/Nandicwara (RV-1403-1624), Ganesha (RV-1403-1681) — cf. linked record MAAAT-QN-SNG-001 for the Ganesha

Catalogue metadata

Abstract dcterms:abstract: "Demonic Ganesha" / tantric Ganesha of Singasari; in Dutch colonial sources: «een vrouwe beeld met een oliphants slurff» ("a female figure with an elephant's trunk"), so described due to a gender error in N. Engelhard's 1802 travel diaryen
Type dcterms:type: Object record — General category
Relation dcterms:relation: MAAAT-QN-RESTIT-SNG-001
Rights Holder dcterms:rightsHolder: Museum Nasional Indonesia, Jakartaen