A beautiful hand carved wood depicting a buxom, curvaceous, Indian Goddess, holding a child by one hand while holding a parrot in her other hand.
Although there are many versions of a curvaceous Indian goddess and or deity, I couldn’t find one that held a child with one hand and carried a parrot with her other hand.Maybe this is not a common deity, hard to say as there many representations in Indian artwork.
Never the less, this piece, beautifully crafted, shows our Goddess with wide birthing hips and ample bosom, perhaps a nod to reproduction, fertility and love.
There is one Goddess in particular, a Hindu Goddess, Parvati that resembles this pieces well.Parvati is the Hindu goddess of fertility, love, devotion, and determination. She is a manifestation of Shakti, the divine feminine energy of the universe. She is the wife of Shiva, the supreme being. She is the mother of Skanda, the god of war, and Ganesh, the remover of obstacles. She is usually depicted alongside Shiva with two arms, holding one lotus. Or, she is represented alone, with four arms, holding two lotuses. Parvati is worshiped for help with marriage, parenting, and fertility.One of the most striking characteristics of the Hindu religion is the importance of goddesses. Fertility goddesses were an important component of early Indian nature cults and were eventually assimilated into the symbolic repertoire of late Indian religious art. The prototype for the female torso was the damaru, the waisted hourglass-shaped drum held by the god Shiva. Following such models specified in ancient texts, sculptors produced an idealized form with narrow waist, broad hips, high, rounded breasts, shapely arms elongated to resemble the slender pliant bamboo shoot, and eyes modeled on the lotus petal or the fish. These young, beautiful, sensuous figures personify fertility, maternity, and Indian ideals of feminine beauty.
It’s very possible that this is an amalgamation of various goddesses Parvati with Goddess Meenakshi of Madurai - although I’m stretching here!If you have any idea please reach out!I learn so much from the world at large!
