A Gilt Bronze figure of Indra

NEPAL, 14TH CENTURY

Details

A Gilt Bronze figure of Indra
Nepal, 14th century
Very finely cast seated in 'Royal Ease' with his right arm resting on his knee in a relaxed pose, with two lotus stalks rising to his shoulders supporting a vajra and flaming scrollwork, wearing a short diaphanous dhoti, beaded necklaces and a tiara inlaid with turquoise and garnets and with incised scrollwork, his face gently modeled in a serene expression with delicately incised third eye, downcast eyes and mouth set in a slight smile
9½ in. (24.2 cm.) high

Exhibited

On loan to the Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, April 2002-January 2007

Lot Essay

This very elegantly and intricately modeled bronze is characteristic for the Nepali representation of Indra, seated in the graceful pose of 'Royal Ease' with his principal attribute of the thunderbolt supported by a lotus flower, bearing a crescent shaped crown, and with the horizontal 'third eye' incised on the forehead. Indra is the lord of the gods who plays an important part in the legends, life and art of Nepal, and the best that the Newari sculptor had to give often went into the making of images of this deity; compare to another bronze of Indra from the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, in P. Pal, Art of Nepal, 1985, cat. no. S42, p. 119.

More from Indian and South East Asian Art

View All