Page 163 - Christies Alsdorf Collection PART 2 Sept 24 2020 NYC

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A LARGE GRANITE FIGURE OF A GODDESS
SOUTH INDIA, TAMIL NADU, CHOLA PERIOD, 12TH CENTURY
Standing in a tribhanga pose with her left hand pendent at her
hip clad in an ankle-length dhoti, the folds falling rhythmically
across her legs, adorned with various jewelry, the face with
full lips and almond-shaped eyes flanked by ornate earings, the
locks of hair arranged in a semi-circular bun at the top of her
head
62 in. (157.5 cm.) high
$20,000-30,000

PROVENANCE:
James Singer Ltd., London, 30 October 1981.
The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago.
EXHIBITED:
The Art Institute of Chicago, “A Collecting Odyssey: Indian,
Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and
Marilynn Alsdorf Collection,” 2 August-26 October 1997, cat.
no. 241.
On loan to Art Institute of Chicago 1997-2010 (221.1997).

LITERATURE:
P. Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast
Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago,
1997, pp. 187 and 327, cat. no. 241.

Compare the present lot with a twelfth-century granite
sculpture of a goddess from Tamil Nadu from the collection
of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, illustrated by P.
Pal in Indian Sculpture, vol. 2, Los Angeles, p. 272. Dr. Pal
suggests the figure represents the goddess Sita, wife of Rama,
identified by the distinctive dhammilla hairstyle and pose with
thrusting hip. The present lot features a similar hairstyle,
posture and lack of a breastband. It serves as a typical example
of the ideal female form as created by Chola sculptors,
with long, graceful legs, a flat abdomen, and small, delicate
features.

印度南部 泰米爾納德邦朱羅王朝 十二世紀 花崗岩雕女神立像
來源:
James Singer Ltd.，倫敦，1981年10月30日。
詹姆斯及瑪麗蓮·阿爾斯多夫珍藏，芝加哥。

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