Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Works of Art
Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Works of Art
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE JAPANESE COLLECTOR
A BLACK STONE STELE DEPICTING SURYA, INDIA, PALA PERIOD, 12TH CENTURY
Auction Closed
September 22, 07:46 PM GMT
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE JAPANESE COLLECTOR
A BLACK STONE STELE DEPICTING SURYA
INDIA, PALA PERIOD, 12TH CENTURY
Height 33 in. (84 cm)
standing in sampada and holding two lotus flowers, wearing a diaphanous pleated dhoti, beaded upavita, foliate collar, circular ear ornaments, the bearded Pingala to his right and the youthful Danda to his left, rampant viyalas trampling elephants in the side panels, two flying apsaras bearing garlands flanking a kirttimukha mask above, the faceted pedestal carved showing the seven horses drawing his celestial chariot
Collection of a Japanese Diplomat, acquired in Bangladesh in the early 1970s
The sun god here is represented in his characteristic frontal posture, the deity dominating the composition, surrounded with his many attendants. Surya is displayed with the characteristic richness and detailed elaboration of the style as seen in later Pala stone sculptures. For another example showing Surya with ornate detailing, see S.L. and J.C. Huntington, Leaves from a Bodhi Tree: The Art of Pala India (8th-12th centuries) and Its International Legacy, Seattle, 1990, cat. 40.