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Lot Essay
This magnificent sculpture depicting the goddess Uma carries a storied provenance, acquired in Chennai, India (formerly Madras) in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, by Mrs. Florence Sutherland Orr. In 1935, the present lot was gifted to the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, Massachusetts on long-term loan, until its deaccession at Christie's New York in 2013; after which it has remained in a private collection.
The current work is a large-scale representation of Uma, standing at more than twenty-five inches in height. The consort and shakti of Shiva, Uma is considered the epitome of feminine perfection and assumes multiple identities as a young maiden, wife and mother. This exquisitely cast bronze figure demonstrates her sensuous femininity through her dynamic pose, the drapery of her garment and her delicately stylized jewelry. Poised in tribhanga on a double lotus atop a rectangular base, her left hand is extended in lolahasta mudra, and the right hand in katakamukha mudra.
In contrast to the languid forms of the early Chola period, bronzes of the late Chola, such as the present lot, show a proclivity towards muscular and exaggerated physiques, as well as great attention to the intricate details of jewelry, drapery, and bodily features. The long legs are emphasized by defined shins that have an almost triangular edge. Bronze figures from this period depicting Uma (also known as Parvati) have fleshy torsos with defined trivali tarangini or triple lines across the belly (a late-Chola convention), and larger, more defined breasts.
South Indian images of the divine and their attendant figures are based on hymns created by poet-saints or nayanar who lived between 600—800 CE. Among them were three principle saints, Sundarar, Appar and Sambandar, who wrote seven hundred hymns that form the sacred liturgical body recited in Tamil temples. These hymns extol the feats of Shiva and his consort Uma, and their irresistible beauty. The South Indian ateliers manifested the poetic ecstasy of these saints into the evocative, sensuous and idealized form of these deities.
In the sculptural traditions of South India, images of Uma and her consort Shiva are considered some of the most important for religious rites. In order for Shiva to bestow his beneficence upon the worshipper, Uma must also be present; no matter how humble or rich the temple, the two images considered essential were the linga (the aniconic form of Shiva) and the anthropomorphic group of Shiva and Uma. In the Shaivite agamas or religious texts prescribing proper worship, bronze images of Uma and Shiva can stand in for any ritual if the temple does not have the specified image.
Compare the elegant embellishments of the current work with a twelfth-century bronze figure of Uma from the Collection of Edwin and Cherie Silver, sold at Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2018, lot 1022: the festooned garlands at the hairline; the upturned curls above the shoulders; the heavy lozenges which form the necklaces; and the richly chased dhotis of both figures. The chase-work on the dhoti also recalls that of another twelfth-century bronze figure of Devi from the Collection of J. and M. Meijer, illustrated by J. van Alphen, Cast for Eternity: Bronze Masterworks from India and the Himalayas in Belgian and Dutch Collections, Antwerp, 2004, pp. 52-53, cat. no. 5.
Compare also with a related image of Uma from the Rockefeller Collection at Asia Society New York, illustrated by D. Leidy, Treasures of Asian Art, New York, p. 52, no. 34.
The current work is a large-scale representation of Uma, standing at more than twenty-five inches in height. The consort and shakti of Shiva, Uma is considered the epitome of feminine perfection and assumes multiple identities as a young maiden, wife and mother. This exquisitely cast bronze figure demonstrates her sensuous femininity through her dynamic pose, the drapery of her garment and her delicately stylized jewelry. Poised in tribhanga on a double lotus atop a rectangular base, her left hand is extended in lolahasta mudra, and the right hand in katakamukha mudra.
In contrast to the languid forms of the early Chola period, bronzes of the late Chola, such as the present lot, show a proclivity towards muscular and exaggerated physiques, as well as great attention to the intricate details of jewelry, drapery, and bodily features. The long legs are emphasized by defined shins that have an almost triangular edge. Bronze figures from this period depicting Uma (also known as Parvati) have fleshy torsos with defined trivali tarangini or triple lines across the belly (a late-Chola convention), and larger, more defined breasts.
South Indian images of the divine and their attendant figures are based on hymns created by poet-saints or nayanar who lived between 600—800 CE. Among them were three principle saints, Sundarar, Appar and Sambandar, who wrote seven hundred hymns that form the sacred liturgical body recited in Tamil temples. These hymns extol the feats of Shiva and his consort Uma, and their irresistible beauty. The South Indian ateliers manifested the poetic ecstasy of these saints into the evocative, sensuous and idealized form of these deities.
In the sculptural traditions of South India, images of Uma and her consort Shiva are considered some of the most important for religious rites. In order for Shiva to bestow his beneficence upon the worshipper, Uma must also be present; no matter how humble or rich the temple, the two images considered essential were the linga (the aniconic form of Shiva) and the anthropomorphic group of Shiva and Uma. In the Shaivite agamas or religious texts prescribing proper worship, bronze images of Uma and Shiva can stand in for any ritual if the temple does not have the specified image.
Compare the elegant embellishments of the current work with a twelfth-century bronze figure of Uma from the Collection of Edwin and Cherie Silver, sold at Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2018, lot 1022: the festooned garlands at the hairline; the upturned curls above the shoulders; the heavy lozenges which form the necklaces; and the richly chased dhotis of both figures. The chase-work on the dhoti also recalls that of another twelfth-century bronze figure of Devi from the Collection of J. and M. Meijer, illustrated by J. van Alphen, Cast for Eternity: Bronze Masterworks from India and the Himalayas in Belgian and Dutch Collections, Antwerp, 2004, pp. 52-53, cat. no. 5.
Compare also with a related image of Uma from the Rockefeller Collection at Asia Society New York, illustrated by D. Leidy, Treasures of Asian Art, New York, p. 52, no. 34.