Page 66 - 2021 March 16th Indian, Himalayan and Tibetan Art, Bonhams NYC New York

330
A GRANITE HEAD OF VISHNU
TAMIL NADU, PALLAVA OR EARLY CHOLA PERIOD, 9TH CENTURY
15 1/4 in. (38.7 cm) high

$30,000 - 50,000
This important transitional work bridging the art of the Pallava and subsequent Chola dynasties,
depicts Vishnu with a mitre almost twice the height of his polished, handsome face. The tall,
intricate headdress begins with a diadem placing a lotus bud immediately above his forehead.
It rises to a large three-pointed medallion, which is repeated above each ear. The overall
cylindrical shape is common to South Indian depictions of Vishnu as well to both the Pallava
and early Chola periods (see Pal, Art from the Indian Subcontinent, New Haven, 2003, p.217,
no.166B). Compare the head’s position stylistically between an 8th-/9th-century Pallava
Vishnu in the British Museum of Art (1961,1213.1) and an early 10th century Chola Vishnu
in the Cleveland Museum of Art (1963.104), published in Chandra, The Sculpture of India,
Washington, 1985, p.189, no.91.

Provenance
Collection of Siddharth K. Bhansali, New Orleans
Acquired in London between 1978-83

64 | BONHAMS