This sculpture is entitled "Vishnu with Avatars" and is dated to the 11th century. It is made of schist and comes from Bangladesh. The Museum placard indicates that this work was made to standing the niche of a temple.
Wikipedia Wikipedia (
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"Vishnu ... is one of the three main male deities in Hinduism. Along with Shiva the destroyer and Brahma the creator, together known as the trimurti. He is the formless Supreme God Svayam Bhagavan of Vaishnavism (one of the principal denominations of Hinduism), and he is also known as Narayana, Vasudeva and Hari. As one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition, he is conceived as "the Preserver or the Protector".
In Hindu sacred texts, Vishnu is usually depicted as having the dark complexion of water-filled clouds and having four arms. He is depicted as a pale blue being, as are his incarnations Rama and Krishna. He holds a padma (lotus flower) in his lower left hand, the Kaumodaki gada (mace) in his lower right hand, the Panchajanya shankha (conch) in his upper left hand and the discus weapon considered to be the most powerful weapon according to Hindu Religion Sudarshana Chakra in his upper right hand." informs us:
"Vishnu ... is one of the three main male deities in Hinduism. Along with Shiva the destroyer and Brahma the creator, together known as the trimurti. He is the formless Supreme God Svayam Bhagavan of Vaishnavism (one of the principal denominations of Hinduism), and he is also known as Narayana, Vasudeva and Hari. As one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition, he is conceived as "the Preserver or the Protector".
In Hindu sacred texts, Vishnu is usually depicted as having the dark complexion of water-filled clouds and having four arms. He is depicted as a pale blue being, as are his incarnations Rama and Krishna. He holds a padma (lotus flower) in his lower left hand, the Kaumodaki gada (mace) in his lower right hand, the Panchajanya shankha (conch) in his upper left hand and the discus weapon considered to be the most powerful weapon according to Hindu Religion Sudarshana Chakra in his upper right hand."
As for the asteroid, Wikipedia (
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"4034 Vishnu (provisional designation: 1986 PA) is an Apollo asteroid, 0.4 kilometers in diameter. It completes one revolution around the Sun almost once every year. It was discovered by Eleanor F. Helin at the Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California on August 2, 1986. It is an O-type asteroid, meaning it is similar to the asteroid 3628 Boznemcová, which is the best asteroid match to the spectra of L6 and LL6 ordinary chondrite meteorites. L and LL chondrites have lower iron and metal content, but higher iron oxide content in the silicates.
Its highly eccentric orbit crosses the orbits of Venus, Earth, and Mars. From 1800 to 2200 the asteroid passes within 30 Gm of Venus 71 times, Earth 29 times, and Mars 7 times.
It has been observed by radar astronomy and the orbital solution includes non-gravitational forces."