2-729-173 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Forehead Pendant with Sun God Surya in a Chariot with Attendants, 1600s or 1700s. The main pendant that would hang on the center of the forehead of a sacred image depicts the Sun God in translucent golden stones. As is standard for his iconography, he holds lotus flowers in his hands held up at his chest level. His charioteer Aruna, the Dawn, drives the stylized five horses before him. Surya’s two wives Usha and Pratyusha in red spinel lunge in both directions holding bow and arrow. The smaller medallion at the top is in the form of a golden peacock on a crescent moon. In Nepalese jewelry, solar imagery is balanced by the lunar. The peacock is a favorite symbol for auspiciousness and protection.