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The Thyssen-Bornemisza Sambandar
622 This impressively large and very fnely cast fgure shows Sambandar in his
A RARE AND IMPORTANT BRONZE FIGURE OF SAMBANDAR iconic pose, with one hand holding a cup and the other with his forefnger
slightly extended, gesturing to Shiva and Parvati above. He is nude save for a
SOUTH INDIA, VIJAYANAGARA PERIOD, LATE 15TH/ simple torque, two bracelets and a sacred thread around his hips, as beftting
EARLY 16TH CENTURY a Brahmin child. His sainthood is indicated by an elaborate headdress, the
29Ω in. (75 cm.) high 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
$600,000-800,000 with further lotus petals, and is surrounded by a faming aureole issuing from
the mouths of makaras and incised with a diamond stippled pattern. The
印度南部 毗奢耶那伽羅王朝 十五末/十六初世紀 印度教聖桑丹達爾銅像 surface retains a rich red-brown patina overall, and its large size indicates it
was part of an important commission.
PROVENANCE
Sotheby’s New York, 1 December 1993, lot 104.
Sambandar is one of the sixty-three Shaiva saints known as Nayanmars For a closely related example of a seventeenth-century Sambandar, see P.R.
worshipped in South India. The historical fgure of this saint appears to have Srinivasan, Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum: Bronzes of South
lived in the second half of the seventh century. According to Tamil poetry, India, 1963, p.347 and plate CLXXXIV, fg.309. Both fgures have gently sloped
Sambandar was born of Brahmin parents and frequently accompanied his shoulders, softly modeled bellies, rounded knees and stand in nearly identical
father to the temple. One day at the age of three, his father left him on the posture. The later example has broader shoulders, a protruding belly and a
steps of the sacred tank as he entered to take his ritual bath. The child began stifer stance, echoed by the heavy ornamentation that seems to stand apart
to cry from hunger, and when his father returned, he found Sambandar playing from the body’s curves. In contrast, the present example is simply adorned,
contentedly with a golden cup while trickles of milk ran down his chin. In allowing greater visual clarity and appreciation of the expertly modeled
response to his father’s concerned questions about the source of the milk, smooth contours.
Sambandar burst into song and dance praising Shiva and Parvati while raising
his hand and pointed toward their image, thus earning his saintly status. 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
fgure of Dancing Krishna (20 March 2014, lot 1626) and a fgure of Shiva
Chandrashekhara from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection (17 March 2015,
lot 34).
A large and important bronze fgure of the dancing Krishna An important bronze fgure of Shiva Chandrashekhara
South India, Vijayanagara Period, 16th century South India, Tamil Nadu, Vijayanagara Period, 15th century
Sold at Christie’s New York, 20 March 2014 Sold at Christie’s New York, 17 March 2015
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