Page 18 - Sporer Collection of Himalayan bronzes

2
A RARE AND IMPORTANT GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF SHIVA
VINADHARA AND PARVATI
NEPAL, 12TH/13TH CENTURY

The eighteen-armed Shiva seated in lalitasana with Parvati on his
bent knee, his primary hands in the vina-playing gesture and the
rest radiating about him, both adorned with foliate jewelry and
crowns and wearing dhotis, hers incised with a foliate pattern,
he further embellished with coiled snakes around his wrists,
chignon, and dangling from his right earlobe, with the life-
like bull and lion reclining in front, heavily cast with gilding
remaining overall
7º in. (18.5 cm.) high (the male fgure)

$600,000-800,000

PROVENANCE:

The Sporer Collection, New Jersey, acquired from J.J. Klejman,
New York, 22 September 1970

PUBLISHED:

Himalayan Art Resource (himalayanart.org), item no. 24017

As Vinadhara (the player of the vina), Shiva is the teacher of yoga,
music, and all the arts and sciences. He expounds on the timeless
principles of vocal and instrumental music, which is known to lead
to liberation (moksha) without strain. In Indian philosophy, music is
comparable to yogic practice in that both involve the control of breath,
mental absorption, and the ultimate release from all obsessions of the
mind.

In contrast to neighboring Tibet, which is and was completely
devoted to the Buddhist faith, the population of Nepal was split
amongst adherents of Hinduism and Buddhism - and in many cases
a fair amount of mixing of the two. While images in bronze of
Umamaheshvara from this period in Nepal are fairly common, the
image of Shiva as Vinadhara with Parvati are very rare; compare with
a smaller example from the 15th century from the collection of Mr.
and Mrs. Eric D. Morse (dated to the 17th century in P.Pal, Nepal:
Where the Gods are Young, 1975, pp.91 and 127, fg.60 and U.von
Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, p.360, fg.96C). Both show
the couple in the same pose and each with the same gestures. The
present example is superbly executed with graceful modeling of all the
fgures – animals included – each idealized, as beftting their celestial
status. Careful attention has been paid to every detail, such as the
snakes that adorn Shiva, the naturalistic draping of Parvati’s dhoti and
sashes, and the lifelike physiognomy of the bull and lion. This level of
refnement combined with the large size, exquisite beauty, and state
of preservation of all four fgures makes this a very rare and important
work surviving from early Nepal.

16 THE SPORER COLLECTION OF HIMALAYAN SCULPTURE