Page 165 - Christies Alsdorf Collection PART 2 Sept 24 2020 NYC

968

A GRANITE PILLAR WITH A YAKSHA AND
SNAKES
SOUTH INDIA, KARNATAKA, 13TH-14TH CENTURY
One pillar face carved with a yaksha seated in lalitasana above
a squatting gana and below a simhamukha and the hoods of
various snakes, the other faces carved with intertwining coils of
snakes, all below a conical pediment
40 in. (101.6 cm.) high
$15,000-25,000

PROVENANCE:
Christie's London, 29 October 1981, lot 309.
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. 367.

LITERATURE:
P. Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast
Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago,
1997, pp. 269, cat. no. 367.

Following the fall of the Chola empire, later schools under
the Hoysalas rejected the restraint and simplicity of their
predecessors, adopting a more ornate approach to their
sculptures. Both the nobility and affluent citizenry of
the Hoysala kingdom were generous patrons of the arts,
and many of their temples are among the most luxuriant
ornate stone structures on the subcontinent. The sculpture
of this period was defined by exuberant ornamentation,
incorporating decorative motifs and designs to frame the
representation of deities.

The veneration of serpents is still prevalent in India and
works such as the present lot are found commonly among
the sculpture of Karnataka, where the motif was particularly
popular. While serpents were worshipped for protection
from their deadly bite, they were also implored for prosperity
and progeny. The reptiles here are not rendered in their
naturalistic form but rather used to adorn the sides of the
pillar, taking the form of the exaggerated ornamentation that
was characteristic of this period.

印度南部 卡納塔克邦 十三/十四世紀 花崗岩雕夜叉那伽紋柱
來源:
佳士得倫敦，1981年10月29日，拍品編號309。
詹姆斯及瑪麗蓮·阿爾斯多夫伉儷珍藏，芝加哥。

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