11th Oct, 2025 14:00

Auction 25

 
  Lot 59
 
Lot 59 - (R) A SANDSTONE PANEL WITH DIVINE AND FEMALE FIGURES CENTRAL INDIA 11TH CENTUR

59

(R) A SANDSTONE PANEL WITH DIVINE AND FEMALE FIGURES CENTRAL INDIA 11TH CENTUR

Dimensions: Height 67 cm Wide 45 cm Depth 17 cm without base
Weight: approx. 50 Kilograms with wood base

Carved in high relief from fine-grained sandstone, this panel depicts a standing male deity and three female attendants, framed by an architectural border of scrollwork and floral motifs. The male figure at the left, wearing an elaborate tall conical crown (kirīṭa), jewellery, and a sacred thread, is likely Vishnu or a divine noble. He holds an attribute in his left hand and stands in graceful samabhanga posture.

Next to him are three voluptuous female figures, their torsos bare and adorned with necklaces, girdles, and large circular earrings. One raises her arm in a gesture towards a parrot perched on her shoulder, another is shown in a tribhaṅga pose, the sensuous curve of her body emphasised by clinging drapery. Below, a smaller attendant is carved in crouching position. The upper register is now lost, with traces of additional figures.

The sculpture exemplifies the Khajuraho style of the Chandella dynasty (10th–12th century), renowned for its rhythmic compositions, erotic elegance, and integration of divine and secular themes. Panels such as this once adorned the outer walls of temples, forming part of the larger iconographic programme of devotion, fertility, and worldly delight.

Sold for €8,925