A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF A RAKSHASI

JAVA, INDONESIA, CIRCA 11TH CENTURY

JAVA, INDONESIA, CIRCA 11TH CENTURY
4 3/8 in. (11 cm) high

爪哇 印度尼西亞 約十一世紀 羅剎銅像

As Pal observed, this distinctive Javanese bronze mostly likely depicts a type of semi-divine ogress, called a rakshasi, who frequently appears in Indian and Javanese mythology. As opposed to Tantric Buddhist dakinis, who are usually young and pretty (albeit fierce) goddesses, this figure's sagging breasts and leaf skirt are common features of the forest-dwelling rakshasi. A good stylistic point of comparison is an 11th-century bronze figure of Mahabala in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1995.570.4).

Published:
Pratapaditya Pal, The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection, Los Angeles, 1977, p.196, no.119.

Exhibited:
On loan to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (L.76.24.13) by 1976.
The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Seattle Art Museum; Denver Art Museum; William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kansas City; National Gallery, Ottawa; and Toledo Museum of Art, 25 October 1977 - 29 October 1978.

Provenance:
Christian Humann (Pan-Asian Collection)
Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Collection, New York
Sotheby's, New York, 5 October 1990, lot 102
Ex-Collection of Dorothy and Richard Sherwood