Page 20 - 2019 September 11th Christie's New York Chiense Art Himalayan bronzes and art

THE PROPERTY OF DOROTHY AND RICHARD SHERWOOD

304
A BUFF SANDSTONE HEAD OF BHAIRAVA
INDIA, RAJASTHAN OR MADHYA PRADESH, 9TH-10TH CENTURY
13æ in. (36 cm.) high

$40,000-60,000

PROVENANCE
The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, New York. This unusual head is depicted with bulging eyes and protruding fangs,
The Pan-Asian Collection (Christian Humann), by 1976. with a fared moustache and full beard. The aforementioned attributes are
Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, New York, by 1982. consistent with the iconography of Bhairava, the wrathful manifestation of
The Pan-Asian Collection; Sotheby’s New York, 5 October 1990, lot 19. Shiva, but for the unusual treatment of the hair, which is represented as
a loose cap with a forward-hanging fold. In The Sensuous Immortals, Pal
EXHIBITED
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum, Denver Art speculates that the cap may actually be a rough bun of hair, which would
Museum, William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kansas City, National Gallery, correspond with the dreadlocks of hair associated with Shiva. Although
Ottawa, Toledo Museum of Art, “The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection the exact identity of the figure remains unclear, the fine carving and
of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection” 25 October 1977- expressive appearance epitomize the expressive nature of early medieval
29 October 1978. Indian stone sculpture.
On loan to the Denver Art Museum (7.1968), by 1982.
LITERATURE
P. Pal, The Sensuous Immortals, A Selection of Sculptures from the
Pan-Asian Collection, catalogue of the traveling exhibition, Los Angeles,
1977, p. 64-65, p. 82, no. 47.
A. N. Heeramaneck, Masterpieces of Indian Sculpture, From the Former
Collections of Nasli M. Heeramaneck, Verona, 1979, no. 36.

A. N. Heeramaneck, Masterpieces of Indian Sculpture, From the Former P. Pal, The Sensuous Immortals, A Selection of Sculptures form the Pan-Asian Collection, catalogue
Collections of Nasli M. Heeramaneck, Verona, 1979, cover and no. 36. of the traveling exhibition, Los Angeles, 1977, cover and p. 82.