An excellent and rare Majapahit silver bronze sculpture of Vishnu from central Java and dating circa 13th century.Silver bronzes were made from a silver bronze alloy where silver is substituted for zinc in the alloy mix, resulting in this unique silver colored metal. This is an exceptionally rare rendering of Vishnu in that it includes his mount, Garuda on the front of the base (socle).This indicates a strong influence of the north-east Indian sculptural traditions.In addition, Vishnu is rendered with his other attributes, namely the Sankha, or conch shell, a Cakra disk and a club (gada). The early bronze sculptures made in Java were highly inspired by bronzes brought to Java by early traders from southern India.During the Majapahit Dynasty, Hinduism and Buddhism merged and they were each equally practiced. As with most all early Javanese bronzes this is cast in the lost wax method with additional details added by chasing and chiseling techniques. The detailing seen on ...