How Ganesha is shown in pictures and sculpture

Ganesha is usually drawn or painted with the body of a man and the head of an elephant, having only one whole tusk. The other tusk seems to be broken. 

One special feature, apart from the elephant head, is the large belly which falls over his lower garment. 

On his chest, across his left shoulder, is his sacred thread. This is often in the form of a snake. 

The vehicle of Ganesha is the mouse, often seen paying obeisance to his lord.

According to the strict rules of Hindu art, Ganesha figures with only two hands are taboo - completely banned. 

For this reason, Ganesha figures usually have four hands. Some figures may be seen with six, some with eight, some with ten, some with twelve and some with fourteen hands, each hand carrying a symbol which is different from the symbols in other hands. People who have done some research on pictures of Ganesha have found that there are about fifty seven different symbols in all.