Kubera, India. Lost wax cast bronze. 5 1/2" (14 cm) high. 13-16th century. This is a small portable bronze shrine of Kubera, the god of riches and guardian of the north. He is short and portly and holds what seems to be a bowl in his right hand and possibly a money bag in his left. The mongoose is often associated with this treasurer of the gods and there do seem to be two vertical animals flanking the torches on either side. He has been worn smooth from centuries of ritual handling.