Snap, Crackle and Pop, the male mascots of Rice Krispies, form the Trimurti, or trinity of male deities, as three heads with a single body; and sit on a lotus bed in a sea of milk, symbols of purity and an allusion to the “ocean of milk,” a momentous theme across multiple allegorical accounts in Hinduism. The detailed border of the piece is inspired by an old Chinese advertisement for rice; the vignettes illustrating farmers reaping and harvesting rice, to its final presentation in a porcelain bowl. This narrative represents the natural, mother-made source of the cereal as well as man’s rule over mother earth, as indicated by the origin story.

The text in Chinese translates to (right to left, top to bottom) “From their mother’s body they created the earth, and then ruled over it.”