SOUTH INDIA, CHOLA PERIOD, 10TH/11TH CENTURY

Details

A large bronze figure of Chandikeshvara
South India, Chola period, 10th/11th century
Standing on a round plinth holding a garland pressed between the palms of his hands folded before his chest, with broad rounded shoulders and gracefully modeled limbs, wearing a finely pleated short dhoti, beaded necklaces and foliate armlets, his face with a serene expression and large almond-shaped eyes, his hair pulled into a high chignon secured with a crown and with loose locks cascading down both shoulders in elegant curls
24¾ in. (62.8 cm.) high

Provenance

Private German Collection, before 1960
Chrsitie's New York, September 2000, Lot 22
Private Collection, Asia

Lot Essay

Chandikeshvara is one of the sixty-four Shaivite saints revered in Southern India and the principal guardian of Shiva. During the Chola period, all Shiva temples had a separate subsidiary shrine dedicated to Chandikeshvara as supervisor, usually on the northern side near the sanctum. Compare with another 10th century example from the Thanjavur district, cf. R. Nagaswamy, Masterpieces of Early South Indian Bronzes, 1983, cat. no. 39.

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