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Lot 1016
A sandstone relief panel of a sarasundari Central India, 10th/11th century
19 March 2012, 14:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$31,250 inc. premium
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A sandstone relief panel of a sarasundari
Central India, 10th/11th century
Carved in deep relief, the celestial beauty stands on a narrow ledge in a highly exaggerated pose with her hips pushed back and torso twisted frontally. She holds her diaphanous dhoti with her thumb and forefinger to barely cover her genitalia while her rounded breasts project from her fleshy torso. With a benign expression her gaze is downward and her hair is pulled back and ornamented at the sides. 25 1/2 in. (64.7 cm.) high
Carved in deep relief, the celestial beauty stands on a narrow ledge in a highly exaggerated pose with her hips pushed back and torso twisted frontally. She holds her diaphanous dhoti with her thumb and forefinger to barely cover her genitalia while her rounded breasts project from her fleshy torso. With a benign expression her gaze is downward and her hair is pulled back and ornamented at the sides. 25 1/2 in. (64.7 cm.) high
Footnotes
This figure is not consciously posing, but nevertheless she is a sarasundari, a celestial beauty whose presence on the temple wall is auspicious. The suggested meaning is that the presence of such figures strengthens the potency of the prayers offered in the temple and, through her beauty, beckon the god to come down to the temple and listen to the prayers being offered.
Compare with another figure in Chandra, The Sculpture of India, 1985, fig. D, p. 210 and Christie's, New York, March 21, 2008, lot 748.
Provenance:
Private American Collection
























