
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
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Sold for US$7,825 inc. premium
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International Director

Head of Sale, Specialist
Reclining on her day bed with her newborn, bejeweled Gauri enjoys a foot rub from a lady-in-waiting. The baby nursing at her breast is Lord Shiva in the form of Sadyojata. The divine mother is healthy, conveyed by her contented smile and sensuous waist. Various offerings are laid below, and a host diminutive deities assemble above to make this votive image more auspicious by their presence. They are comprised of Shiva in his aniconic form as the lingam, Shiva's sons Ganesha and Kartikeya, and the nine planetary bodies in Indian astronomy (navagraha).
Compare another example of the same period sold at Bonhams, New York, 18 September 2013, lot 86 (the subject misattributed), and an example now in the Balurghat College Museum (Mevissen, "A Reclining Gauri Image with 'Pancadikpalas' in the Khulna Museum, Bangladesh", in Baumer et al. (eds.), Sahrdaya, Chennai, 2006).
Provenance
Sotheby's, New York, 17 June 1993, lot 115
The Estate of Benjamin M. Rice II, New York