Page 40 - Bonhams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art March 2019

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A RED SANDSTONE HEAD OF A VAISHNAVAITE DEITY A RED SANDSTONE CHAURI BEARER
NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 12TH CENTURY NORTH INDIA, RAJASTHAN, 10TH CENTURY
12 1/2 in. (31.7 cm) high 20 3/4 in. (52.6 cm) high
$3,000 - 5,000 $20,000 - 30,000
To be sold without reserve
This celestial attendant is superbly carved with remarkable natural-
This softly modelled divine portrait, with heavy-lidded almond shaped ism. He stands in a restrained tribhanga pose, with the remains of a
eyes and a Vaishnavite jeweled mitre, shares the same facial type, luxurious fly whisk (chauri) curling by his left ear. A diminutive bejeweled
broad eyebrows, curled fringe, and pinkish sandstone as a 12th- nymph flanks his right leg.
century stele of Vaishnavi from the Kota region of Rajasthan held in the
Braj Vilas Palace Museum (Singh (ed.), Museums of Rajasthan, Jaipur, This sculpture’s deep red sandstone and the crisp array of pen-
2009, p.148). dants around his neck are features commonly associated with stone
sculpture from the environs of Kota in eastern Rajasthan. Compare,
Provenance for example, a closely related stele of Vayu in the Brooklyn Museum of
Collection of Fay and William Bullock King (1911-73), South Carolina Art, for which Desai and Mason also note the configuration of the sash
Thence by descent overlaying the short lower garment is a noticeable feature of sculpture
The Charleston Library Society, South Carolina, 1992-2019 from the Kota region (Gods, Guardians, and Lovers, New York, 1993,
p.153, no.8). Other closely related sculptures in this style include an
attendant figure and a head of Vishnu sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 15
March 2017, lot 261, and 19 March 2014, lot 37, respectively.

Provenance
Maryland Private Collection
Doyle, New York, 10 September 2012, lot 27

38 | BONHAMS