Carved with sublime detail, this sculpture by the family of the late Indonesian artisan Putra Suteja will never cease telling the stories of Hindu mythology. An Anantaboga dragon circles this coconut sculpture, while Ganesha presides at the top center. Ganesha is one of the most popular deities in the Hindu pantheon. With the four arms he holds his own broken tusk in his lower-right hand and holds a delicacy, which he samples with his trunk, in his lower-left hand. His upper left hand holds an axe and his upper right arm holds a noose. The word Anantaboga is derived from the Sanskrit term ananta (endless) and boga (food, possession or wealth). As a result, Antaboga could be translated as "endless food" or "endless wealth". This sculpture comes with a detachable albesia wood base.

Product Features: 

• Dimension: 5" H x 6" Diam.
• Weight: 0.31
• Color: Brown
• Material: Coconut shell and albesia wood
• Made in Indonesia

Story Behind the art:
After a long illness, Putra Suteja passed in November of 2009. True to his happy, stoic character, Suteja kept it to himself and always greeted us with a big, friendly smile. He is survived by his wife Eka, and two small children, then a 2 year old daughter and 19 days'old boy. Our most heartfelt condolences to them and to his sister, Luh Mas Pertamiari, also a Novica featured artisan. Eka wishes to honor Suteja's artistry by continuing his work, and has asked us to keep his name and memory alive through Novica. Sleep well, our friend, in your peaceful eternal sleep. The lights of peace will erase all your pains. Our prayers be with you.

I was born in 1975 in Gianyar, where I was given my Balinese name, Made Putra Suteja. Our village has fostered the art of woodcarving for many years. I started to learn the art from my parents while I was still in elementary school. My grandfather was a famous carver in his time, and received several awards for dedicating his life to the art world.

I don't want to limit my work to certain themes only. Religion, mythology, daily life, and nature are inspirational to me, as well as my own cultural history. I carve with several different materials, including suar, sono, hibiscus, and woods, as well as coconut shells.

In 2005, the best year of my life to that date, I married a Balinese woman named Putu Sri Ekawati, and was also introduced to Novica. I enjoy working with Novica because my work reaches people outside of Bali, and I feel respected as an artist. I appreciate the fact that Novica promotes Balinese artists on an international level.

The handmade touch of artisan skill creates variations in color, size and design. If buying two of the same item, slight differences should be expected. Note: Color discrepancies may occur between this product and your computer screen.

Imported