Ca. 19th century sculpture of Vishnu as the Varaha the Wild Boar. One of the avatars of Vishnu. Varaha is the avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu who takes the form of a boar to rescue goddess earth Varaha is listed as third in the Dashavatara, the ten principal avatars of Vishnu.In Hindu mythology when the demon Hiranyaksha tormented the earth (personified as the goddess Bhudevi) and its inhabitants, she sinks into the primordial waters. Vishnu took the form of the Varaha, descended into the depths of the oceans to rescue her. Varaha slew the demon and retrieved the Earth from the ocean, lifting her on his tusks, and restored Bhudevi to her place in the universe.Here Varaha is depicted in an anthropomorphic form, with a boar's head and human body.The Vishnu sculpture is loose mounted on wood (later). Please contact us for high resolution images of the piece.