Hanuman Bronze

Karnataka – Tamil Nadu
Southern India
Chocolate patina bronze
Circa 17th century
16 cm

Hanuman is one of the main characters of the mythological epic of the Ramayana, originally a vast poem initiated in the third century before the common era. He works for the justice of the divine and holds supernatural powers, such as moving from the shores of the Indian subcontinent to the island of Sri Lanka in a single jump. He can also change his size at will, transforming into a giant or becoming tiny. In the Ramayana, “the deeds of Rama”, Rama has the will to free the princess Sita from the clutches of her captor, the ten-headed king Ravana, sovereign of the rakshasas. He then makes an alliance with Hanuman, the king of the monkeys (the Varana), who becomes his unconditional friend. Hanuman is venerated, often in a chapel attached to the temples dedicated to the divine couple Rama and Sita, in South India, as Rama’s faithful companion. He embodies the values of courage, hope, intelligence, benevolent loyalty, and devotion.