Adorning Deities Through Ravi Varma's Art

The Goddess of wealth and abundance, Lakshmi has been adorned in many different forms.

Embellishment was a way in which worshippers immortalised their gods by adorning them, as they would a temple deity. The crown has glass beads in red, green and white depicting precious stones.

One common factor in all the forms of embellishment is the red colour of her sari. Here the border and motifs have been enhanced with silver sequins and zardozi.

On her arms, neck and ears are traditional Indian jewels, recreated using the same beads and sequins.

One of the most stunningly adorned reproductions of Goddess Lakshmi, this image has been enhanced beautifully with silk fabric and jewellery.

Her serene features are further enhanced by a bejewelled crown and striking nose ornaments.

The deity is shown wearing a bright pink sari with a heavy Oddiyanam or waist ornament.

Heavy jewellery made of glass beads, gold and silver zardozi, silver threads beautify the Goddess.

Lord Ganapathi is seen with his consorts Riddhi and Siddhi. The only decoration on Lord Ganapathi is the heavily embellished crown.

Riddhi and Siddhi have embellishments like silk fabric, beads and zardozi. Once again the artist has liberally used zardozi thread and sequins to adorn the image.

Lord Vishnu and his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi, astride the Garuda, are embellished with fabric, beads, sequins and silver threads. But it is the garland around Lord Vishnu's neck that is striking.

Made of white silk threads and twisted into an attractive pattern, this garland shows another variation in the kind of adornments used.

The Goddess of Knowledge, Saraswati is depicted in a white sari. Here, the jute fabric is adorned with silver sequins and zardozi while the blouse is in a contrasting shade of pink.

Around her neck she is shown wearing the craftsman’s version of the South Indian Kaas Maale (neck ornament made out of gold or silver coins) and similar earrings.

The strings of her sitar are enhanced with silver thread as are the bangles.

Even the feathers of the peacock beside the Goddess have been embroidered with silver beads and sequins.

A unique take on Goddess Saraswati’s costume, the artist has used blue glass beads to decorate the deity’s crown and jewellery,

Complementing her pure white sari with blue motifs made of the same glass beads, the Goddess’s blouse has been highlighted with maroon velvet fabric while the arm is embellished with a gold amulet.

Blue zardozi toe rings adorn the Goddess’ feet while delicate work on the feathers of the peacock enhance the beauty of the work.

The six-headed warrior god sits astride a peacock along with his consorts Deivaani and Valli, who are adorned in richly coloured saris and jewellery.

The embellishment artist has used silk fabric to show the Goddess’s saris and silver sequins and zardozi to depict jewellery

Even the feathers of the peacock's tail have been highlighted with small silver sequins.

Lightly embellished with silver glitter, this iconic image of Lord Rama with five members of his family is unique.

Though the adornment is very minimal, it works well to highlight the jewellery and elaborate crowns worn by the subjects of this work.

Strangely, the detailing on the garments is minimal, perhaps given that Lord Rama is bare-bodied, it however, gives the imagery an overall stunning effect.