A MINIATURE BRONZE FIGURE OF ANNAPURNA Lot n° 296

A MINIATURE BRONZE FIGURE OF ANNAPURNA South India, 18th century. Seated in padmasana on lotus base raised on a stepped plinth, the goddess of food and nourishment portrayed holding a bowl to distribute food among her devotees. Clad in a saree, her face flanked with pendulous earrings and crowned with a kiritamakuta and backed by a shirashchakra. Provenance: Collection Particulière Française, and thence by descent within the family. According to family repute the piece was acquired 1981 in Pondicherry, India (known today as Puducherry). Condition: Good condition with casting flaws and extensive wear, predominantly from centuries of worship. Gently warping of the base and the right arm partly lost. Weight: 33.1 g Dimensions: Height 4.1 cm Literature comparison: Compare a closely related bronze figure of Annapurna, dated to the 18th-19th century, in the British Museum, museum number 1905,0408.13. Compare a closely related bronze figure of Annapurna, dated to the 18th century, 6.3 cm tall, in the British Museum, museum number 1940,0716.47.