Indian Bronze Pilgrimage Figure

Rearing above a square tiered base, a hooded serpent ignores the small animal nearby.

This pilgrimage figure is from Maharashtra, India, and dates to the 19th century. It is bronze. Small cast metal figures of deities were often carried by pilgrims or kept at household shrines in western India, and many were made by the lost-wax process. Smooth and golden, a broad, flared hood curls over a coiled body. A small recumbent animal sits at the left on the stepped, square plinth, and reddish residue shows around the base. It is 3 inches wide, 3 deep and 5 high.

The hood is dramatic, and the little animal is unfazed.