INDIA, MADHYA PRADESH OR RAJASTHAN, 10TH-11TH CENTURY

The goddess stands in an upright and symmetrical samabhanga posture, representing bodily and spiritual equilibrium. Her conical jatamukuta, composed largely of hair braids and embellished with jewels, associates her with the god Shiva. She is richly adorned throughout her body, including makara-head earrings, a layered collar with floral bud pendants, a multi-strand necklace of pearls, and a waistband with one long descending openwork chatelaine. Remnants of a vanamala garland, which would have draped over her arms, join her legs above a pair of cuff anklets.
The figure draws close comparison to stelae of the goddess Gauri; however, without the figure’s arms and accompanying attributes, a specific identification is not possible. A tenth century black stone stele of the goddess at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 2014.519), standing in samabhanga, gathers her hair into a braided and bejeweled jatamukuta and wears similar jewelry, makara-earrings, and embellished garland. The figure may be compared stylistically to a sandstone figure of Vishnu attributed to central-eastern Madhya Pradesh at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (acc. no. 25.438), published in V.N. Desai, Gods, Guardians, and Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India, New York, 1993, pp. 185-186, cat 47.