Page 91 - Bonhams Himalayan, Indian Art march 2015

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A blackstone stele of Vishnu
Northeast India, Pala period, 11th century
Holding the mace and chakra, and displaying the gesture of charity, with Lakshmi to the right
with the fly whisk, a Saravasti to the left with the vina, the deities adorned with lavish silks,
swags, garlands, and necklaces.
31 1/2 in. (80 cm) high
$20,000 - 30,000

The stele has been richly carved to form an ornate mandorla of elephants, vyalas, makaras,
kinnaras, apsaras, topped by a kirtimukha mask. At the base, devotees offer their hands in
prayer, kneeling amongst swirling lotus vines, one of which reaches up beside Laskhmi and
blooms to provide a rest for Vishnu’s right hand in varada mudra.

For a very closely related example attributed to Bangladesh in the Asian Art Museum, San
Francisco, see Huntington, Leaves from the Bodhi Tree, Dayton, 1989, no. 36. Comparable
examples were also sold at Christie’s, New York, 12 September 2009, lot 579 and
Sotheby’s, New York, 20 March 2013, lot 273.

Referenced
HAR – himalayanart.org/image.cfm/41250.html

Provenance
Private Massachusetts Collection since 1968

Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art | 89