This beautiful vintage shrine print is of the well known Hindu God Shiva, his wife Parvati and their son Ganesha.
Shiva and Parvati are the parents of Ganesha. The divine family are said to live on Mount Kailasa in the Himalayas (with another son, six-headed Skanda). Note the gestures of the Shiva-Parvati pair: the raised right hand, the "fear-not" gesture (abhaya-mudra), which bestows protection.
Shiva has Nandi, a bull for his vahana, vehicle and wears a snake. Parvathi has a lion, Ganesha has a mouse and Karthikeya a peacock. In real world, the lion considers bull as its prey and the bull fears the lion. Similarly, snake preys on the mouse and a peacock preys on snake.
Size: 14.5" x 10"
It is important to understand that these are not just images of Gods; they are Gods - Gods incarnate in their printed image. During puja (worship) the Gods are invited to descend into their images and are treated as guests. Offerings of fruit, flowers, and sweets are placed before these prints, prayers chanted to them, incense burned before them, and garlands of marigolds are hung around their frames.
This print has gone through many monsoons (with months of humidity), so it may have some staining and discoloration, along with some chips in the frame, that come with daily use and age.
In the period following independence in 1947 in India, the religious print business in India grew dramatically in its scale and diversity. All the prints I import from India are from this era and are a lot more colorful and bold in comparison to the very early prints in the late 1800's.
*Price includes free postage to anywhere in the UK.*
*ALL INTERNATIONAL ORDERS SENT TRACKED AND SIGNED