This tabloid bronze of Vishnu seated like a warrior astride the back of Garuda flanked by goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati was made for veneration. The Pala (Sanskrit for protector) dynasty reigned ineastern India over the present-day states of Bihar and West Bengal as well as Bangladesh. The Pala kings were staunch patrons of Hinduism and Buddhism. The Pala empire had considerable artistic exchanges with its Southeast Asian counterparts and its influence can still be detectedin Javanese sculptures and the art forms of Nepal, Burma and Thailand.
