A CEREMONIAL COPPER SHIELD DEPICTING VIRABHADRA, 17TH-18TH CENTURY Decca, Southern India. The four-armed deity standing on a tiered base within a cloud-form niche centered by a kirtimukha mask, richly adorned with jewelry, holding a sword, shield, bow, and arrow in his four hands. His ornate crown flanked by the sun and crescent moon, with an image of Nandi and a Shiva Lingam in the top corners, a diminutive figure of Daksha in the lower left corner with hands folded in anjali mudra, all in high relief. The reverse bears a massive handle.

Provenance: British trade.
Condition: Good condition with some wear, few small metal fills, the plaque later pierced for attachment, tiny losses, minor dents, and small nicks. Fine, naturally grown patina overall.

Weight: 1,178 g
Dimensions: Size 32.2 x 15 cm

Expert's note: This is a fine, unusual piece with some puja (prayer) wear. Most probably it adorned a household shrine or a small shrine within a temple.

Virabhadra, an incarnation of Shiva, created after Shiva's wife Sati, was not invited to a great sacrifice given by her father Daksha. Being greatly humiliated, Sati went to the banquet and threw herself on the sacrificial fire. When Shiva heard of his wife's death, he tore a hair from his head and threw it to the ground. Virabhadra, a great hero-warrior, arose from this hair. He cut off Daksha's head in his rage and hurled it into the sacrificial fire. After the other gods calmed Shiva down, Daksha's head was replaced by that of a ram and he later became a devotee of Shiva.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related copper-brass ceremonial shield of Virabhadra, dated to the 18^th century, on display in The British Museum, museum number 1853,0108.9.