Page 28 - Indian and Himilayan Art

AN IMPORTANT GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF VASUDHARA
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An Important Gilt Copper Figure of Vasudhara,
circa 13th Century, Nepal, 8 in. (20 cm.) high Post-twelfth-century Nepalese sculpture illustrates an
Christie’s New York, 21 March 2008, lot 594,
sold for $433,000
Richly cast in gilded copper alloy, this exquisite image of
Vasudhara, the goddess of fertility and wealth, embodies
the mastery of early Malla period (1200-1482) bronze casting.
important stylistic shift from the earlier Licchavi period aesthetic
(330-880), which was rooted in the full and naturalistic forms of
Gupta India. While Licchavi period bronzes are celebrated for
their elegantly languorous fgures, by the twelfth-century a new
sculptural style emerges, characterized by intricate detail and
lavish ornamentation.
The present fgure of Vasudhara perfectly embodies this new
aesthetic in all its glory. Seated in lalitasana, her six arms radiate
fuidly from broad shoulders - the lower two relaxed in her lap,
the upper four animatedly raised - creating a muscular arch
in her back. Her ample bust gives way to a tapered waist and
full hips. Her pendant leg, gently resting on a lotus blossom,
suggests movement while her proper left leg is delicately tucked
beneath her. Her body is both robust and elegant, her posture
dynamic and graceful. She is powerful and feminine, formidable
and benevolent. The artist of this masterful image perfectly
merged the voluminous contours of the early Gupta style with
the refned intricacy of his time.
Adding to the present fgure’s distinctive beauty is her wide,
almost rectangular face, which tilts gracefully downwards.
Compare the almond-shaped eyes, long aquiline nose and small
mouth - features reminiscent of Pala period prototypes - with
a twelfth/thirteenth-century bronze fgure of Vasudhara in
the Patan Museum, Kathmandu (gallery F, case 2, F-4). Like
the infuence of Gupta art on early Nepalese sculpture, “It has
become axiomatic with modern scholars to assert that post-
ninth century Nepali art was strongly infuenced by the Pala
art of eastern India” (P. Pal, Nepal: Where the Gods are Young,
New York, 1975, p.14). Both the Patan Museum example and the
present work are emblematic of this infuence.
While there are various iconographic forms of Vasudhara
throughout South Asia, the six-armed seated image is most
prevalent in Nepal, where she is celebrated as a goddess of
fertility and the land. Compare the elegant proportions and fne
modeling of the present fgure with another Nepalese gilt bronze
Vasudhara of similar size, also from the thirteenth century, sold
at Christie’s New York on 21 March 2008 (illustrated left).