Live Auction 18768The Oliver Hoare Collection
A POLISHED SANDSTONE LINGAM
Lot 21

A POLISHED SANDSTONE LINGAM

KHMER, ANGKOR PERIOD, ANGKOR OR BAYON STYLE, 12TH/13TH CENTURY

Closed25 October 2019

Price Realised

GBP 5,250

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A POLISHED SANDSTONE LINGAM
KHMER, ANGKOR PERIOD, ANGKOR OR BAYON STYLE, 12TH/13TH CENTURY
The surface polished with square base and octagonal middle section rising to cylindrical top
18 in. (46 cm.) high

With Seward Kennedy, New York or London, 1971 or prior

Seward Kennedy’s Cabinet of Curiosities; sold Christie’s, South Kensington, 22 November 2016, lot 68, to Oliver Hoare.

Specialist note

A lingam is the phallic emblem of Shiva. It also represents an abstract symbol of the Hindu trinity with Brahma (the creator) standing for the square base, Vishnu (the preserver) for the mid-section and the phallic-shaped domed top for Shiva, both the destroyer and the creator. In Indian philosophy it also symbolises the cosmic pillar that connects heaven and earth, an understanding adopted by Hindu followers in South East Asia.
A comparable sandstone lingam was sold from the Doris Wiener Collection at Christie's, New York, 20 March 2012, lot 166.