A VIJAYANAGAR BRONZE FIGURE OF SAMBANDAR TAMIL NADU

A VIJAYANAGAR BRONZE FIGURE OF SAMBANDAR TAMIL NADU, SOUTH INDIA, 14TH/15TH CENTURY

dancing on a circular platform supported by a lotus base, his right hand raised in vitarka mudra, his left outstretched, with tall domed coiffure, long earrings and jewelled necklace and belt, a cakra halo behind his head

21cm high

Provenance: Private collection, England. Acquired in New York, circa November 2005.

Sambandar, the Tamil Saivite saint is often confused with Krishna when depicted as here in dancing pose. As Pratapadiya Pal points out, the only difference iconographically is the right hand; while Krishna is either carrying a butter ball or gesturing abhaya mudra, Sambandar makes a pointing gesture. The mood of the two similarly depicted deities is aligned and as Pal suggests, this was perhaps an attempt on the part of followers of the Saiva cult to have an equivalent figure which could enjoy some of the great popularity enjoyed by the young Krishna. See Pratapaditya Pal, 'Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 1: Art from the Indian Subcontinent', New Haven 2003, no.191, for a discussion of the subject matter and a larger and slightly earlier example in the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena.