SOUTH INDIA, VIJAYANAGAR PERIOD, 16TH/17TH CENTURY

Details

A Bronze Triad of Vishnu with his Consorts
South India, Vijayanagar Period, 16th/17th Century
Heavily cast with the four-armed Vishnu holding his attributes conch and disk, with his legs crossed and principal hands in the gesture of playing a flute, wearing a short dhoti and pendent sashes, accompanied by his two consorts, each individually cast holding a lotus bud and with one arm extended alongside in mirrored poises
18 in. (45.7 cm.) high (Vishnu)

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Lot Essay

The unusual triad combines the iconography of Vishnu with his well-known avatar, Krishna, in the gesture of playing the flute. The consorts likewise can be viewed in two ways: Sridevi dressed with the breast-band then appears as Krishna's principal wife, Rukmini, while Bhudevi, the Earth goddess, also evokes Satyabhama, Krishna's favorite. Images of a multi-armed Vishnu in the guise of Krishna are rare; for another example, eight-armed and lacking the consorts, see P. Pal, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum: Vol. 1, Art from the Indian Subcontinent, 2003, p. 261 and 275, and cat. no. 199. Compare also with lot 70.

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