CENTRAL OR WESTERN INDIA, 11TH-12TH CENTURY

This resplendent figure of Vishnu is carved from a luminous green stone, possibly chlorite or serpentine, which shines a lustrous black when highly polished. Vishnu stands in powerful samabhanga, holding a mace and chakra in his upper hands and a conch shell and possibly lotus bud in his lower hands. At his feet, he is flanked by a pair of figures known as ayudha purushas. They are anthropomorphic forms of powers wielded by their source deity and are often seen holding the implement, or weapon, associated with the deity’s power. At bottom left there is a female deity holding an attribute similar to the sitaphal fruit in her right hand, symbolizing fertility, and a thick lotus stem in her left hand; the lotus stem may encircle Vishnu’s fish or tortoise avatar and thus may also indicate her identity as one of his spouses, Sridevi or Bhudevi. She stands behind shankha purusha holding the conch. At right, there is chakra purusha holding the wheel at front with danda purusha holding the mace behind him. At top, three-headed Brahma sits above Vishnu’s proper right shoulder and Shiva above the proper left. Vishnu is richly clad in elaborate jewelry, including anklets, a festooned triple-banded belt, a thick sacred thread (yajnopavita), bracelets, armlets, necklaces, earrings and an elaborate crown. The lion-like kirtimukha motif in the crown and on the mace staff, referring to yet another of Vishnu’s avatars, Narasimha, recalls central Indian images of Vishnu from the Gupta period. The open-mouthed makara design in the crown and the earring is another mythical creature commonly found on images of Vishnu.
Stylistically, this work displays features found in both Central and Western Indian examples. The lustrous, smooth, dark stone is similar to that of a Rajputana Hari-Hara from a private collection published in Masterpieces of Indian Sculpture (see A. Heeramaneck, Masterpieces of Indian Sculpture: From the Former Collections of Nasli M. Heeramaneck, Italy, 1979, fig. 78). Compare the modeling of the crown, torso, belt and chakra to the twelfth century stele of Vishnu from Uttar Pradesh at the Norton Simon Museum (M.1975.11.11.S). The treatment of the facial features, notably the broad and square outline, upraised arched eyebrows and small, straight nose, can be compared to another Central Indian tenth century Indian figure of Vishnu at the Brooklyn Museum (1969-10-1). The style of the jewelry, kirita crown, elaborate scrolling pattern on the belt and chakra and four-oval lozenge design on the jewelry--not to mention the openwork triangular pattern of the chakra--are also reminiscent of medieval examples from eastern Gujarat or western Madhya Pradesh, such as a figure of Garuda and another of a chauri-bearer in the CSMVS Museum, Mumbai (M. Chandra, Stone Sculpture in the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay, 1974, figs. 90, 97).