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Lot Essay
The present lot depicts two gilt-copper relief fragments depicting kinnaris, half-bird, half-woman creatures found throughout both Hindu and Buddhist mythology. The creatures are believed to be from the Himalayas, and their purpose, along with their male counterpart kinnaras, is to watch over the human realm in times of danger. They are also known to fill heaven as celestial musicians, with the kinnaris playing the drum and the kinnaras singing and playing the lute.
Kinnara and kinnari were an oft-repeated motif in early Indian art, particularly in the Buddhist sculptures of Mathura and paintings at Ajanta. They spread throughout Buddhist art movements in the region and remain important to the Tibetan and Nepalese art historical context through the present day. They are popularly included along with Nagarajas and Nagarajis, the half-human, half-snake serpent kings and queens, in gilt repousse relief plaques and Toranas.
The present lot depicts each kinnari lavishly dressed in royal attire and adornments, including a petaled tiara, heavy earrings, and bejeweled armlets, bracelets necklaces and waistbands. In each figure, the kinnari’s plumage effortlessly integrates into the floral scrollwork forming the remaining background of the relief. They are each positioned to be likely supporting a larger figure above them, perhaps a bodhisattva; a lotus base emerges from the tail of one figure. A similar repousse kinnari figure from central Tibet, sharing similar influences as the present lot, can be found in the collection of Yale Art Gallery (acc. No. 2020.8.1). Also see a gilt-copper repousse figure of a kinnari sold at Sotheby’s Paris, 12 December 2013, lot 215.
Kinnara and kinnari were an oft-repeated motif in early Indian art, particularly in the Buddhist sculptures of Mathura and paintings at Ajanta. They spread throughout Buddhist art movements in the region and remain important to the Tibetan and Nepalese art historical context through the present day. They are popularly included along with Nagarajas and Nagarajis, the half-human, half-snake serpent kings and queens, in gilt repousse relief plaques and Toranas.
The present lot depicts each kinnari lavishly dressed in royal attire and adornments, including a petaled tiara, heavy earrings, and bejeweled armlets, bracelets necklaces and waistbands. In each figure, the kinnari’s plumage effortlessly integrates into the floral scrollwork forming the remaining background of the relief. They are each positioned to be likely supporting a larger figure above them, perhaps a bodhisattva; a lotus base emerges from the tail of one figure. A similar repousse kinnari figure from central Tibet, sharing similar influences as the present lot, can be found in the collection of Yale Art Gallery (acc. No. 2020.8.1). Also see a gilt-copper repousse figure of a kinnari sold at Sotheby’s Paris, 12 December 2013, lot 215.