INDIA, KERALA, CIRCA 14TH CENTURY

Details

A Carved Wood Headpiece of Kali with Cobras
India, Kerala, circa 14th Century
Carved in relief with a large rounded face in a fierce expression with bulging eyes and furled teeth, flanked by elephant and lion earrings and interwined swirling cobras
56¾ in. (144 cm.) wide

Provenance

Collection of Prince and Princess Aschwin zur Lippe-Biesterfeld

Literature

S. Cary Welch, India. Art and Culture, 1985, p. 37, cat. no. 9.
A. Headington, 'Private World of a Prince: Oriental flair in a Paris apartment,' Connoisseur, July 1988, p. 55, illustrated.

Exhibited

New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, India. Art and Culture, 1985, cat. no. 9.

Lot Essay

Of exceptionally fine execution, large woodcarvings of this type would have been used as personification of the goddess Kali during a ritual performance; compare with the headpiece at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in P. Pal, Indian Sculpture, vol. 2, 1988, p. 300, cat. no. 165.

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