Page 135 - March 23 2022 Boinghams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art

THE BARONESS CARMEN THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA COLLECTION
460
A RARE AND IMPORTANT BRONZE FIGURE OF SAMBANDAR
SOUTH INDIA, TAMIL NADU, VIJAYANAGARA PERIOD,
LATE 15TH-EARLY 16TH CENTURY
29Ω in. (75 cm.) high
$300,000-500,000
PROVENANCE:
Sotheby’s New York, 1 December 1993, lot 104.

Sambandar is one of the sixty-three Shaiva saints known as Nayanmars
worshipped in South India. The historical figure of this saint appears to have
lived in the second half of the seventh century. According to Tamil poetry,
Sambandar was born of Brahmin parents and frequently accompanied his
father to the temple. One day, at the age of three, his father left him on the
steps of the sacred tank as he entered to take his ritual bath. The child began
to cry from hunger, and when his father returned, he found Sambandar playing
contentedly with a golden cup while trickles of milk ran down his chin. In
response to his father's concerned questions about the source of the milk,
Sambandar burst into song and dance praising Shiva and Parvati while raising
his hand and pointed toward their image, thus earning his saintly status.
This impressively large and very finely cast figure shows Sambandar in his
iconic pose, with one hand holding a cup and the other with his forefinger
slightly extended, gesturing to Shiva and Parvati above. He is nude save for a
simple torque, two bracelets and a sacred thread around his hips, as befitting
a Brahmin child. His sainthood is indicated by an elaborate headdress, the
topknot echoing the form of a lingam and therefore referencing his Shaivite
association. He stands on a lotus over a tiered plinth, the bottom step incised
with further lotus petals, and is surrounded by a flaming aureole issuing from
the mouths of makaras and incised with a diamond stippled pattern. The
surface retains a rich red-brown patina overall, and its large size indicates it
was part of an important commission.
For a closely related example of a seventeenth-century Sambandar, see P.R.
Srinivasan, Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum: Bronzes of South
India, 1963, p.347 and plate CLXXXIV, fig.309. Both figures have gently sloped
shoulders, softly modeled bellies, rounded knees and stand in nearly identical
posture. The later example has broader shoulders, a protruding belly and a
stiffer stance, echoed by the heavy ornamentation that seems to stand apart
from the body’s curves. In contrast, the present example is simply adorned,
allowing greater visual clarity and appreciation of the expertly modeled
smooth contours.
There are few published examples of Vijayanagara-period works which
approach the size and mastery with which the artist has cast this work. Two
works from the period have been sold in recent years, including a large figure
of Dancing Krishna sold at Christie's New York, 20 March 2014, lot 1626, and a
figure of Shiva Chandrashekhara from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection sold
at Christie's New York, 17 March 2015, lot 34.
(reverse)

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