Page 70 - Bonhams Indian and Himalayan Art September 2013

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A brass figure of Durga Mahishasura Two copper alloy urli
South India, 17th century Tamil Nadu, 19th/early 20th century
With her lion mount assisting, she steadies the buffalo with one foot Of typical form with scroll handles; the larger ornamented with an
whilst extracting the demon Mahishasura by the hair with her primary left elephant carrying a lingam, a peacock, and crocodile, and a length
hand, her other arms radiating weapons and attributes, the bud finial of dedicatory inscription in Old Tamil around the rim.
her crown with incised crescent moon and sirischakra. 34 1/2 in. (87.7 cm) diameter, the larger
4 3/4 in. (12 cm) high $3,000 - 5,000
$1,500 - 2,500
Another urli, without inscription, was sold at Christie’s, South Kensington,
Provenance: 19 & 20 June 2013, lot 353.
Private British Collection
Provenance:
89 Private Pittsburgh Collection
A copper alloy figure of Krishna
South India, Nayak Period, 17th/18th century 91
Standing in tribhanga with the calf clamoring up the lotus pedestal to lick A stone lingam
the sole of his right foot, wearing a short dhoti below his rotund belly and North India, Madhya Pradesh
holding the conch and wheel by his shoulders. On a later metal stand; pale green-gray polished stone with natural inclusions.
4 1/2 in. (11.5 cm) high 10 in. (25.3 cm) high
$1,500 - 2,500 $1,500 - 2,500

The present lot belongs to a rare group of figures which combine the The lingam is the primary form in which Shiva is worshiped. Variously
iconography of Vishnu with his avatar Krishna. For another eight-armed considered a phallus or a pillar of light, this aniconic form is considered to
example, see Pal, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum: Vol. 1, Art from be the purest embodiment of the deity.
the Indian Subcontinent, 2003, no. 199, p. 261 & 275.
Provenance:
Private Collection, Pasadena
Acquired in the 1980s

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