Page 78 - 2021 March 17th, Indian and Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art, Christie's New York City

427
A BUFF SANDSTONE FRIEZE DEPICTING
THE AVATARS OF VISHNU
INDIA, MADHYA PRADESH OR UTTAR PRADESH,
11TH-12TH CENTURY
14¬ in. (37.1 cm.) high; 22√ in. ( 58.1 cm.) wide
$6,000-8,000
PROVENANCE:
Sotheby's New York, 16 March 1988, lot 164.

印度 中央邦或北方邦 十一/十二世紀 砂岩雕毗濕奴碑
來源:
紐約蘇富比，1988年3月16日，拍品164號。

This charming sandstone frieze depicts seven of the ten avatars of Vishnu,
each accompanied by a unique floral aureole carved in bas-relief. From left to
right, the four theriomorphic forms are Matsya, the fish; Kurma, the tortoise;
Varaha, the boar; and Narasimha, the lion. The represented anthropomorphic
manifestations include Vamana, the dwarf, and two avatars holding either
end of the snake coiled around the mountain atop Kurma. Although an
identification of this pair can not be certain, they likely represent either Rama,
Parashurama, or Krishna.