Asian Ebony Statue of
Hanuman, Indonesia (circa
1900
AD) This
massive
Asian
ebony
statue
of Hanuman is from Indonesia. Based on style
and age of the wood, the statue is about 100 years old. Asian Ebony is
not
true ebony but one of the heaviest and hardest Asian woods and has a
natural color of black with dark orange/brown bands. The statue
measures 81 cm. tall and weights roughly 20 kilograms or 45 lbs.
The entire statue is
carved from a single piece of Asian ebony, including the dragons' teeth
and flames.
Hanuman (Sanskrit: हनुमान्,)
is
a
Hindu
deity,
who is an
ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana.
A
general
among
the
vanaras,
an ape-like race of forest-dwellers,
Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine, whose fate it is to aid the
hero Rama in the struggle against the demon king Ravana. His exploits
are much celebrated in a variety of religious and cultural traditions,
particularly in Hinduism. The statue shows Hanuman
fighting the demon
king Ravana depicted as a multi-bodied dragon that
gracefully wraps around Haunman's powerful body.
Blowup of Hanuman showing detail and adornments. Hanuman's entire body is covered with a fur like carving. The wood is neither stained, varnished, or waxed. The natural finish comes from the wood's extreme hardness and natural oils.
References |