Silver lingam casket and chain

SOUTH INDIA, KARNATAKA, 19TH/20TH CENTURY

Details

Silver lingam casket and chain
South India, Karnataka, 19th/20th century
The casket in chauka, or square, form with flared projections at top and a pointed finial below, finely incised with floral forms around makara, on a braided chain with pointed terminals
4½ in. (11.4 cm.) wide, the casket
41 in. (104.1 cm.) long, the chain

Provenance

Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, 1960s

Lot Essay

The flared projections at top allude to Nandi's horns, the vehicle for Shiva, for whom the lingam represents. The makara decoration allude to water and other libations poured over the lingam during worship. For a closely related example, see O. Untracht, Traditional Jewelry of India, 1997, p. 135, fig. 237.

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