Page 60 - 2020 Sept 22 Himalayin and Indian Works of Art Sotheby's NYC Asia Week

9/2/2020 Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Works of Art | Sotheby's

In this finely carved sculpture, Shiva exudes authority and power. The deity is shown standing in a frontal posture, his broad
shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist hugged by a sampot worn high with a knot in the front, its vertical pleats delineated
precisely, one end opening into a large fan-shaped fold over his left leg and the other end draped in a ‘fish-tail’ fringe on his right
leg. The garment is further secured by a sash tied at the hip terminating in the form of a large butterfly-shaped bow at the back, a
motif introduced during the Baphuon period.

Within the local context of Hindu worship during the Khmer Empire, Shiva played a dominating role as the main deity of worship.
Stone sculptures depicting the Lord show him as the divine ascetic - his smooth skin exposed wrapped only in the pleated fabric of
a sampot. The classicism of the sculpture, stripped of its excess, shows an aestheticism that in its simplicity portrays refined
elegance and power. The Baphuon period favored this more polished aesthetic rendering forms with an idealized sense of both
beauty and grace.

Shiva’s face, showing both command and introspection, is characterized by rounded cheekbones, full lips, almond-shaped eyes
and gently arched brows centering the third eye on his forehead. His facial hair is indicated by delicately incised lines whilst his
braided locks are arranged in a domed chignon on his head, its plaited loops secured by a string of rudraksha beads closely
associated with the deity. Despite its idealized form, Shiva’s countenance bears elements of portraiture contiguous with the
Devaraja or God King cult popularized by the Khmer rulers.

Another example of Shiva, illustrated in W. Felten and M. Lerner, Thai and Cambodian Sculpture, London, 1988, cat. no. 27, shows
the same exquisite modeling of form which harmoniously integrates with the detailed patterning of the sampot and hair. In both
this as in our present sculpture, the crisp lines flow seamlessly between fabric, hair and skin, unifying the different elements and
presenting the viewer and worshiper with an object of devotion that is restrained, refined, dignified and powerful.

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