A VERY RARE COPPER ALLOY SHRINE TO PARVATI, KARNATAKA, WESTERN CHALUKYA PERIOD, 10TH-11TH CENTURY
A VERY RARE COPPER ALLOY SHRINE TO PARVATI, KARNATAKA, WESTERN CHALUKYA PERIOD, 10TH-11TH CENTURY
Finely cast, the goddess standing erect upon a small pedestal within an architectural shrine, her body modeled with a narrow waist, rounded hips, and prominent breasts. She is richly adorned with necklaces, armlets, bracelets, and a girdle securing a close-fitting lower garment. The right hand is lowered in varada mudra, while the left is raised in abhaya mudra, the upper hands clasped around a sankha and chakra . Her serene face is framed by an elaborate coiffure and large earrings.
The figure is enclosed within a tall openwork aureole supported by two pillars, each flanked by diminutive attendant figures and scrolling vegetal motifs. The arch above is punctuated by a small figure of Ganesha and a lingam, culminating in a pointed finial, with a pendant element descending above the goddess's head. The whole is raised on a stepped rectangular base with projecting feet.
Provenance: From an old private collection in Berlin, Germany, and thence by descent.
Condition: Very good condition with old wear, predominantly from centuries of worship within the culture. Some casting flaws, rubbing, few minor losses. The bronze with a rich, smooth, naturally grown patina with extensive cuprite and splashes of malachite encrustations.
Weight: 182 g
Dimensions: Height 12 cm
From their dynastic capital in Kalyani (modern-day Basavakalyan), the Western Chalukyas ruled over Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in the Deccan Plateau between the late-10th and late-12th centuries. Among their artistic achievements, they patronized the poet Bilhana who produced the famous love poem, the Chaurapanchasika, in the same century the present bronze was likely created. The Western Chalukyas also produced the most engaging and aesthetically satisfying sculptures in the Deccan at this time, building upon a regional artistic tradition of robust figures and ornate frames, which the Hoysalas (r.1026-1343) furthered. The Western Chalukyas built over 50 temples ranging throughout Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, a notable example of which is the Mahadeva temple in Karnataka, dedicated in 1112 CE, whose outer walls display similar scrolling vines as the present bronze's arch (see Huntington, The Art of Ancient India, New York, 1993, p. 545, figs. 22.6).
Literature comparison:
Compare a related bronze statue of Lord Vishnu, late Western Chalukya, dated to the 10th century, and illustrated by Vishwaveer Singh, Deccan Chronicle, Custodian of Culture, 18 August 2018. Compare a related bronze shrine of Vishnu, Karnataka, dated to the late 10th-early 11th century, 19 cm high, in the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, accession number EA2005.12.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 23 July 2020, lot 822
Mid-estimate: USD 30,000 or approx.
EUR 33,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A copper alloy shrine to Uma Maheshvara, Karnataka, Western Chalukya period, 11th century
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling of the aureole and pedestal. Note the size (19.1 cm).
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30%
Estimate
Time, Location
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A VERY RARE COPPER ALLOY SHRINE TO PARVATI, KARNATAKA, WESTERN CHALUKYA PERIOD, 10TH-11TH CENTURY
Finely cast, the goddess standing erect upon a small pedestal within an architectural shrine, her body modeled with a narrow waist, rounded hips, and prominent breasts. She is richly adorned with necklaces, armlets, bracelets, and a girdle securing a close-fitting lower garment. The right hand is lowered in varada mudra, while the left is raised in abhaya mudra, the upper hands clasped around a sankha and chakra . Her serene face is framed by an elaborate coiffure and large earrings.
The figure is enclosed within a tall openwork aureole supported by two pillars, each flanked by diminutive attendant figures and scrolling vegetal motifs. The arch above is punctuated by a small figure of Ganesha and a lingam, culminating in a pointed finial, with a pendant element descending above the goddess's head. The whole is raised on a stepped rectangular base with projecting feet.
Provenance: From an old private collection in Berlin, Germany, and thence by descent.
Condition: Very good condition with old wear, predominantly from centuries of worship within the culture. Some casting flaws, rubbing, few minor losses. The bronze with a rich, smooth, naturally grown patina with extensive cuprite and splashes of malachite encrustations.
Weight: 182 g
Dimensions: Height 12 cm
From their dynastic capital in Kalyani (modern-day Basavakalyan), the Western Chalukyas ruled over Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in the Deccan Plateau between the late-10th and late-12th centuries. Among their artistic achievements, they patronized the poet Bilhana who produced the famous love poem, the Chaurapanchasika, in the same century the present bronze was likely created. The Western Chalukyas also produced the most engaging and aesthetically satisfying sculptures in the Deccan at this time, building upon a regional artistic tradition of robust figures and ornate frames, which the Hoysalas (r.1026-1343) furthered. The Western Chalukyas built over 50 temples ranging throughout Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, a notable example of which is the Mahadeva temple in Karnataka, dedicated in 1112 CE, whose outer walls display similar scrolling vines as the present bronze's arch (see Huntington, The Art of Ancient India, New York, 1993, p. 545, figs. 22.6).
Literature comparison:
Compare a related bronze statue of Lord Vishnu, late Western Chalukya, dated to the 10th century, and illustrated by Vishwaveer Singh, Deccan Chronicle, Custodian of Culture, 18 August 2018. Compare a related bronze shrine of Vishnu, Karnataka, dated to the late 10th-early 11th century, 19 cm high, in the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, accession number EA2005.12.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 23 July 2020, lot 822
Mid-estimate: USD 30,000 or approx.
EUR 33,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A copper alloy shrine to Uma Maheshvara, Karnataka, Western Chalukya period, 11th century
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling of the aureole and pedestal. Note the size (19.1 cm).
Buyer's Premium
30%
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
