Page 72 - 2021 March 16th Indian, Himalayan and Tibetan Art, Bonhams NYC New York

334
A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF VISHNU WITH GADANARI AND CHAKRAPURUSHA
NORTHEASTERN INDIA, BIHAR, POST-GUPTA PERIOD, CIRCA 8TH CENTURY
8 in. (20.3 cm) high
$30,000 - 50,000
As Dr. Pal writes:

“Although missing its base and aureole...this is an important bronze for the completeness
of the three figures and its early date. The central columnar figure of Vishnu would originally
have stood on a high lotus, while his two personified attributes—Gadanari (Club-woman) and
Chakrapurusha (Wheel-man)—stood on the base itself. Vishnu is distinguished by his physical
eminence, his garland of wild flowers, and four arms. The front right hand is stretched in the
gesture of varada or munificence, while the left holds the conchshell. The additional hands are
placed on the heads of the personified attributes.

“The proportions and modeling of all three figures with simple ornaments indicate a post-Gupta
date. With his wide shoulders, robust arms, and columnar legs, Vishnu’s figure...is comparable
to metal Balarama and Surya images in the British Museum [von Schroder, Indo-Tibetan
Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.221, nos.47D-E]...The two graceful personified attributes here
also are closer in style to Gupta-period figures than to those of the Pala period.”

Published
Pratapaditya Pal, The Elegant Image: Hindu, Buddhist and Jain Bronzes from the Indian
Subcontinent in the Siddharth K. Bhansali Collection, New Orleans, 2011, p.56, no.20.

Exhibited
The Elegant Image: Hindu, Buddhist and Jain Bronzes from the Indian Subcontinent in the
Siddharth K. Bhansali Collection, New Orleans Museum of Art, 5 August - 23 October 2011.

Provenance
Sotheby’s, London, 5 June 1989, lot 90
Collection of Siddharth K. Bhansali, New Orleans

70 | BONHAMS