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Lot Essay
Sambandar is one of the sixty-three Shaiva saints known as Nayanmars worshipped in South India. The historical figure of this saint appears to have lived in the second half of the seventh century. According to Tamil poetry, Sambandar was born of Brahmin parents and frequently accompanied his father to the temple. One day, at the age of three, his father left him on the steps of the sacred tank as he entered to take his ritual bath. The child began to cry from hunger, and when his father returned, he found Sambandar playing contentedly with a golden cup while trickles of milk ran down his chin. In response to his father's concerned questions about the source of the milk, Sambandar burst into song and dance praising Shiva and Parvati while raising his hand and pointed toward their image, thus earning his saintly status.
This impressively large and very finely cast figure shows Sambandar in his iconic pose, with one hand holding a cup and the other with his forefinger slightly extended, gesturing to Shiva and Parvati above. He is nude save for a simple torque, two bracelets and a sacred thread around his hips, as befitting a Brahmin child. His sainthood is indicated by an elaborate headdress, the topknot echoing the form of a lingam and therefore referencing his Shaivite association. He stands on a lotus over a tiered plinth, the bottom step incised with further lotus petals, and is surrounded by a flaming aureole issuing from the mouths of makaras and incised with a diamond stippled pattern. The surface retains a rich red-brown patina overall, and its large size indicates it was part of an important commission.
For a closely related example of a seventeenth-century Sambandar, see P.R. Srinivasan, Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum: Bronzes of South India, 1963, p.347 and plate CLXXXIV, fig.309. Both figures have gently sloped shoulders, softly modeled bellies, rounded knees and stand in nearly identical posture. The later example has broader shoulders, a protruding belly and a stiffer stance, echoed by the heavy ornamentation that seems to stand apart from the body’s curves. In contrast, the present example is simply adorned, allowing greater visual clarity and appreciation of the expertly modeled smooth contours.
There are few published examples of Vijayanagara-period works which approach the size and mastery with which the artist has cast this work. Two works from the period have been sold in recent years, including a large figure of Dancing Krishna sold at Christie's New York, 20 March 2014, lot 1626, and a figure of Shiva Chandrashekhara from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection sold at Christie's New York, 17 March 2015, lot 34.
This impressively large and very finely cast figure shows Sambandar in his iconic pose, with one hand holding a cup and the other with his forefinger slightly extended, gesturing to Shiva and Parvati above. He is nude save for a simple torque, two bracelets and a sacred thread around his hips, as befitting a Brahmin child. His sainthood is indicated by an elaborate headdress, the topknot echoing the form of a lingam and therefore referencing his Shaivite association. He stands on a lotus over a tiered plinth, the bottom step incised with further lotus petals, and is surrounded by a flaming aureole issuing from the mouths of makaras and incised with a diamond stippled pattern. The surface retains a rich red-brown patina overall, and its large size indicates it was part of an important commission.
For a closely related example of a seventeenth-century Sambandar, see P.R. Srinivasan, Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum: Bronzes of South India, 1963, p.347 and plate CLXXXIV, fig.309. Both figures have gently sloped shoulders, softly modeled bellies, rounded knees and stand in nearly identical posture. The later example has broader shoulders, a protruding belly and a stiffer stance, echoed by the heavy ornamentation that seems to stand apart from the body’s curves. In contrast, the present example is simply adorned, allowing greater visual clarity and appreciation of the expertly modeled smooth contours.
There are few published examples of Vijayanagara-period works which approach the size and mastery with which the artist has cast this work. Two works from the period have been sold in recent years, including a large figure of Dancing Krishna sold at Christie's New York, 20 March 2014, lot 1626, and a figure of Shiva Chandrashekhara from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection sold at Christie's New York, 17 March 2015, lot 34.