The Devi Lakshmi is an unparalleled Hindu devi. She is the wife of Vishnu; Her name is the feminine form of 'lakshma' (Sanskrit for 'mark'), and refers to the mole on His torso where devotees visualise Her. She is also called Haripriya, the priya ('favourite') of Hari (another name for Lord Vishnu). Because He is responsible for the preservation of creation as we know it, it is She who presides over wealth and resources, which are a prerequisite to the process. And it is Her iconography that betrays it, as captured in this handpicked bronze from Swamimalai. Her complexion is the gracious colour of gold, Her shringar the most luxuriant of the Hindu devi pantheon, and Her beauty unspeakable.

Note how graceful Her stance is, portrayed with a skill that is practically endemic to Southern India. She is seated in lalitasana on a gigantic lotus, beneath which is another inverted lotus. The two-tiered pedestal that the lotuses are on are engraved with lotus petals (the bottom-most tier) and a wave-like silhouette that refer to the story of Her birth. She was born as Vishnu's wife, complete with mangal-sutra and toe-rings and kamalasana, from the oceans that the devas and asuras were churning with all their respective strength and vigour (samudramanthan). What make this a highly characteristic Indian bronze are the towering crown, the superbly defined features and limbs, and the inimitable composure of countenance.