Page 120 - March 23 2022 Boinghams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art

THE BARONESS CARMEN THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA COLLECTION
456
A BLACK STONE STELE OF UMAMAHESHVARA
NORTHEASTERN INDIA, PALA PERIOD, 9TH-10TH CENTURY
23º in. (59 cm.) high
$50,000-70,000
PROVENANCE:
Collection of Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck, New York.
The Heeramaneck Collection of Indian Sculpture, Paintings and Textiles;
Sotheby's New York, 2 November 1988, lot 36.
Sotheby’s New York, 1 December 1993, lot 110.
This exquisitely carved and finely detailed sculpture depicts Shiva and Parvati
in tender embrace. Shiva sits on a lotus base with Parvati nestled on his ample
lap. With his left arms he holds aloft a skull cup and caresses her breast, and
in his right hands he holds a trident with a snake, while benevolently tilting
her chin to look at him. In turn, she embraces him with her right hand while
holding a lotus bud in her left. Both figures wear striated diaphanous dhotis,
beaded jewelry carved in high relief, and beaded foliate tiaras securing their
elaborately dressed hair. Their facial features bear influence inherited from the
Gupta period – full lips, finely arched eyebrows and wide eyes with delineated
upper and lower lids. Below the lotus sits the couple’s animal vehicles, the
bull and the lion, with Nandi looking up at the heavenly couple. The group is
set against an egg-shaped backplate with a cross-hatched border, the shape
echoing the story of Shiva with the Cosmic Egg.
The finely-grained stone retains its rich color and polished surface, further
highlighting the deep carving. The jewelry for both figures is rendered with
great attention to detail. For example, the sculptor has skillfully conveyed
the heaviness of the metal that comprise Shiva’s earrings, so much so that
his earlobes are extended and splay out to allow the earrings to rest on his
shoulders. This artistic device is repeated in later examples, including a
diademed Buddha from Nalanda, published in S. L. Huntington, The “Pala-
Sena” Schools of Sculpture, 1984, fig.133.
The Pala dynasty was greatly esteemed for its arts and culture, with scholars
and merchants alike traveling from all over Asia, disseminating its visual
culture across the region. Its historical importance was recognized by the
great collector and dealer, Nasli M. Heeramaneck, in whose collection this
work once belonged. A bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara dated to ninth-tenth
centuries, also from the Heeramaneck Collection and now at Los Angeles
County Museum of Art, shows nearly identical modeling of the body and facial
features, including proportion of the jatakamukuta in relation to the body, the
delineation of the eyebrows and full lips (see A. Heeramaneck, Masterpieces
of Indian Sculpture from the former collections of Nasli M. Heeramaneck, 1979,
fig.115 and LACMA acc.no.M.81.8.3). Appreciation of Pala-period works
continues to grow, with new connoisseurs collecting rare and important works
from this period.

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