Skip to main content
Lot 280

A bronze figure of Bhikshatana-Bhairava
South India, 16th Century

23 April 2013, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond Street

£1,200 - £1,500

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Islamic and Indian Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

A bronze figure of Bhikshatana-Bhairava
South India, 16th Century

the deity standing in alidhasana, wearing a short diaphanous dhoti secured with a belt centered by a kirtimukha, with a high head-dress, adorned with long necklace and other ornaments, wearing sandals with feet in profile, his three hands holding a lotus bud, sword and bow, his fourth resting atop a mace on a snake head, mounted on wooden base
13 cm. high (approx.) (without base)

Footnotes

Provenance: Private German collection.

Bhikshatana is a form of Shiva as the wandering mendicant and Bhairava his fearsome manifestation as the god of terror and destruction. As Bhairava, he is said to have severed the fifth head of Brahma, the God of Creation, and was subsequently condemned to wandering the earth to atone his crime. He is portrayed here wearing sandals as befitting his mendicant status.

Additional information