Page 22 - Sotheby's Indian Himalayan and Southeast Asian Wroks of Art March 2019

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PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTION A s the chief of Shiva’s army of ganas Besides the skill required in casting, Chola
A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF (shreshtamganadevatam), Adhikaranandi or craftsmen perfected the harmony of line and
ADHIKARANANDI & CONSORT Nandikeshvara as he is also known, holds a form in these images creating some of the finest
freestanding sculptures in existence. The perfect
special place in the worship of the Lord. There
South India, Chola Period, 13th Century are various myths relating to the origin of this equipoise of the figures in the present image
the elegant image of Adhikaranandi standing deity. In essence, Adhikaranandi’s ardent attests to the mastery achieved by the bronze
in slight contrapposto with his primary hands devotion and adoration for his Lord makes him casters while their serene, joyful countenance
in anjali mudra showing respect to his master a vessel for Shiva’s teaching and thereby he radiates the spirit of bhakti or loving devotion
Shiva, his secondary hands mirroring his Lord’s serves as a symbol for the ideal devotee – one symbolized by the subject.
attributes the mrga or antelope and now missing who waits patiently to receive his Lord’s grace. Whilst images of Adhikaranandi are ubiquitous
battle-axe or parasu, clad in a short veshti For this reason the iconography of this image is a in Shiva temples, they are seldom encountered
secured at his waist with an elaborate jeweled reflection of Shiva and Uma’s manifestation in the in institutional or private collections, making
girdle, his hair arranged in a tall jatamukuta, his Alinganamurti form. this a rare object indeed. A large sculpture of
consort Suyasa standing in tribhanga with her This bronze would have been used in ritual Adhikaranandi from Thanjavur, featured alone
right hand upraised in ahuya varada mudra, the processions. In South India, the creation of without his consort, is currently in the collection
left pendent at her side in lola mudra, ornamented bronze images for the purpose of worship began of the Government Museum Madras, accession
in upavita, collar, and tiered karandamukuta, in the Eighth Century during the Pallava period no. 634/68. The circular patterning on Suyasa’s
her long dhoti incised with foliate motifs, both but the art of metal casting reached its apogee dhoti in the present sculpture is reminiscent of a
figures placed on upturned lotuses supported on under the patronage of the Chola monarchs. similar textile seen on an image of Krishna in the
a rectangular tiered pedestal Chola bronzes were made from wax models using collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of
Height 24 in. (61 cm.)
the ‘lost wax’ or cire perdue process. The finest Art, see V. Dehejia, The Sensuous and the Sacred:
bronzes comprised an alloy of at least five metals Chola Bronzes from South India, 2002, cat 52,
PROVENANCE
(panchaloham), which included copper, tin, lead, pp. 200-203.
Sotheby’s New York, March 27, 1991, lot 60. gold and silver. The fact that these were solid cast
William H. Wolff, Inc.
indicates the extent of the expense undertaken
in the production of these ritual icons. Images
EXHIBITED
such as these were specifically created to be
The Art of India, The Memorial Art Gallery of the portable. The holes at the base of the pedestal in
University of Rochester, April 7-30, 1961, no. 47, the present sculpture were receptacles for long
illus. (handbook)
poles on which the image would be balanced as it
was carried on the shoulders of devotees during
$ 400,000-600,000 processional worship.

Nandikesha mahabhaaga Shiva dhyana parayaana
Uma shankara sevartham anugyaam dhatumarhasi

Oh Nandi who is ever engaged in meditation to Lord Shiva
Please permit me to be of service to Shiva and Parvathi!

20 SOTHEBY’S INDIAN, HIMALAYAN & SOUTHEAST ASIAN WORKS OF ART