Live Auction 1203The India Sale
A BRONZE FIGURE OF PARVATI
Lot 126 REGISTERED ANTIQUITY - NON-EXPORTABLE

A BRONZE FIGURE OF PARVATI

SOUTH INDIA, CHOLA PERIOD, 12TH CENTURY

Closed15 December 2015

Price Realised

INR 3,500,000

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A BRONZE FIGURE OF PARVATI
SOUTH INDIA, CHOLA PERIOD, 12TH CENTURY
Beautifully cast in tribhanga over a circular lotus base, her right hand raised in katakamudra holding a blue lotus bud and her left extended along her hip, clad in a long striped dhoti and tied at her waist with a sash, her upper torso adorned with beaded necklaces and a channavira, her arms with armlets and bracelets, her face with gentle expression flanked by elongated earlobes and surmounted by a high conical headdress, with a rich brown patina overall
12 5/8 in. (32 cm.) high

Specialist note

Petite in size, the present figure is exceptionally well cast with prominent ornaments and geometric motifs. The image would likely have been the female partner of a larger-scale image of Shiva, yet the goddess would also have been worshipped independently, carried in procession and displayed in her own shrine. Typically in South India the god and goddess are joined together only for certain festivals and for spending the night. For a similar arrangement of the garments and coiled armbands, see Douglas Barrett, Early Chola Bronzes, Bombay, 1965, pl.29-30.