Property from another collection
A brass figure of Radha
Orissa, circa 16th century
Standing in a flexed pose on a domed lotus base and flat circular platform, Radha holds a lotus bud as an offering in her raised right hand, her left hand by her hip in the gesture of katakamukha. Her hair is tied in an remarkably long and detailed braid that terminates in a triple tassel by her right hip. Her body is modeled with powerful limbs, large circular breasts, pinched waist and broad hips, and she wears a girdle with a fan shape pubic cover. Her face is rendered with a joyous expression with large almond-shaped eyes, flared nostrils, and smiling mouth above a prominent square chin.
27 in. (68.58 cm.) high
Standing in a flexed pose on a domed lotus base and flat circular platform, Radha holds a lotus bud as an offering in her raised right hand, her left hand by her hip in the gesture of katakamukha. Her hair is tied in an remarkably long and detailed braid that terminates in a triple tassel by her right hip. Her body is modeled with powerful limbs, large circular breasts, pinched waist and broad hips, and she wears a girdle with a fan shape pubic cover. Her face is rendered with a joyous expression with large almond-shaped eyes, flared nostrils, and smiling mouth above a prominent square chin.
27 in. (68.58 cm.) high
Sold for
US$ 254,500
inc. premium
Footnotes
- The sensuous modelling of this extraordinarily large figure represents the high point of later Orissan sculpture. Although a departure from the naturalism of stone and metal casting from the medieval period, the stylized and powerful treatment of the torso and limbs is very appealing, and is complimented by the fine detail found in the braiding of her hair.
The treatment of the base is almost identical to that of a figure of circa 1500 Ganesha in the Ashmolean Museum (1980.64), and that of a, newly attributed, 17th century figure of Dancing Krishna in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, see Cummins, Vishnu, 2010, no. 94. Also compare with another smaller and probably later version of Radha in Dehejia, Devi, The Great Goddess, 1999, p. 329, cat no. 77. Also compare with the modelling and treatment of the tassels on a a 15th century Venugopala in the Burger Collection, see Pal, Dancing to the Flute, 1997, no. 36b, p. 84.
Provenance:
Acquired from Bodhicitta, New York
J. Russell Wherritt Trust
Category: Asian Art / Southeast Asian, Indian and Himalayan Art
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