Burmese Gilded Wooden Hanuman

This Burmese version of Hanuman, the popular Indian monkey deity, has been carved from a solid, single piece wood, lacquered and gilded. The figure is in a dramatic, energised pose.

Hanuman is a popular god all over Hindu India and is particularly ubiquitous in the South. He is a key figure in the Ramayana epic as the head of the monkey army and is charged with capturing the heroine Sita from the evil Ravana. Burma has long has close links with India and the localised version of the Ramayana in Burma was known as the Yama Zat, although various versions of the Ramayana were adopted, adapted and blended with local legends as well as parts of the Jataka, the previous lives of the Buddha. It became popular in Burma from about the 18th century and thereafter mages of Hanuman became popular in Burmese art.

The example here has been mounted on a quality, custom-made stand for ease of display. It is in excellent condition.