Page 166 - Christies Alsdorf Collection PART 2 Sept 24 2020 NYC

崇聖御寶 - 詹姆斯及瑪麗蓮 ·阿爾斯多夫珍藏

969

A MOTTLED RED SANDSTONE FIGURE OF A RAMPANT VYALA 印度中部 中央邦或北方邦 八/九世紀 赤砂岩神獸像
CENTRAL INDIA, MADHYA PRADESH OR UTTAR PRADESH, 8TH-9TH CENTURY
來源:
Shown rearing on one hind leg, the other resting on the ornate end of his curved tail, his
Spink & Son Ltd.，倫敦，1979年4月24日。
head turned back over his body, the mouth agape with tongue lolling, the bulging eyes
詹姆斯及瑪麗蓮·阿爾斯多夫珍藏，芝加哥。
centered with a spiked crest
23 in. (68.5 cm.) high, not including tang
$25,000-35,000

PROVENANCE:
Spink & Son, Ltd., London, 24 April 1979.
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. 347.
LITERATURE:
P. Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and
Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago, 1997, pp. 255 and 349, cat. no. 347.

This iconic rampant vyala was a subject of particular interest to the Alsdorfs. Compare
the bulging eyes; the curly stylized mane; and the tail with foliate motif which matches
the scrolling foliate support under the proper left hind leg of the current lot with a
pair of contemporaneous red sandstone sculptures depicting rampant vyalas gifted by
Marilynn Alsdorf to the Art Institute of Chicago (acc. no. 1997.714a-b).

For further discussion of decorative architectural elements such as the above, see V.
Desai and D. Mason (eds.), Gods, Guardians and Lovers: Temple Sculpture from North India
A.D. 700-1200, New York, 1993, p. 162f.

164 PART II