A bronze figure of Bhudevi

SOUTH INDIA, CHOLA PERIOD, 12TH/13TH CENTURY

Details

A bronze figure of Bhudevi
South India, Chola period, 12th/13th century
Standing in tribhanga on a double-lotus base dressed in a striped dhoti secured at the waist with a festooned girdle and pendant patterned sash, adorned with multiple necklaces and the breast band, the face with elongated features flanked by large hoop earrings, the hair escaping in locks over the shoulders and piled within a conical headdress, backed by a shiraschakra
21¾ in. (55.2 cm.) high

Provenance

Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, 1970s

Exhibited

International Asian Art Fair, New York, circa 1995

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Lot Essay

Bhudevi, the Earth Goddess, is one of Vishnu's wives. After she was abducted by the demon Hiranyaksha, Vishnu took on the form of his boar avatar Varaha and plunged in to the depths of the ocean to save her. After lifting her above the waves on his tusks, Vishnu vanquished the demon with his chakra. In South Indian representations of Bhudevi, she is often shown as part of a trinity with Vishnu in the center and Sri Devi on the other side. While Bhudevi and Sri Devi's iconography are very similar, Bhudevi can be distinguished by the breast-band, which Sri Devi lacks.

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