Image title: Four-faced Shivalinga

This Bronze sculpture shows a Four-faced Shivalinga, from the 18th century origination from Nepal.—Materials used: Bronze.

Description: Although partial bodies seem to emerge from the linga it is still called “four-faced.” Linga images are usually differentiated but these four are the same: a scowling, serpent-wreathed, wrathful aspect. Like Yogis, each holds a water-pot and seed rosary. Serpents, omnipresent in Nepalese culture, encircle the top of the pedestal.

Gallery information:

The Patan Museum is located on the Durbar square of Patan (Lalitpur/Lalitapura, Kathmandu, Nepal) which is associated Keshav Narayan Chowk (Keshavnarayan)—a form of Lord Vishnu. Being listed as a World Heritage Site, the whole of Durbar square is filled with exquisite temples, sculptures and other ancient structures, of which the ancient history history can be traced to the Malla Kings of Lalitpur. It is an important site for both Buddhism and Hinduism.