Vishnu Black stone Eastern India, Pala Period

Vishnu standing on a lotus flanked by his consorts, holding his attributes the gada, chakra and shankha, his primary right hand lowered in varada mudra. He is richly bejeweled and wears a tapering, faceted crown and a fine, pleated dhoti secured by a waistband adorned with beaded festoons. The sides of the stele are densely carved with rampant lions atop elephants, kinnaras balanced on makaras, sword-bearing vidyadharas and a kirttimukha at the apex.

Compare with a closely related image in the Indische Kunstabteilung, Berlin, see Indische Kunst, 1966, cat. 66, p. 20. Also see Sotheby’s, New York, September 24, 2004, lot 46 for a larger stele of similar quality.