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拍品专文
Finely carved with exceptional detail, this impressive stele of Vishnu, the god of Preservation, showcases the masterful craftsmanship of artists working in Northeast India during the Pala Period of the 11th and 12th centuries.
Although fragmentary, the sculpture reveals the artist’s remarkable ability to capture subtle facial and bodily contours. A delicate, nearly transparent sash drapes faintly across Vishnu’s torso, while the jewellery, including the necklaces, vaijayantimala cord, and armbands are rendered with keen observation and exquisite precision. This feature can also be found in the example published in Lefebvre d’Argencé and Bartholomew, Indian and South-East Asian Stone Sculptures from the Avery Brundage Collection, Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, 1969, pls.36.
The treatment of his belt and dhoti, visible beneath the soft naturalistic roll of his abdomen, further demonstrates the exceptionally high quality of the carving. The surviving portions of the back panel depict Lakshmi to Vishnu’s left and Saraswati to his right, and the the upper side panel, an elephant, vyala, makara, and youthful boy appear in low relief, adding lively narrative detail to the composition. Below the throne, the register is adorned with finely articulated lotus blossoms and donor figures.
The present stele may be compared to a closely related example in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1987.178), which shares comparable quality and similar areas of loss. Another Pala-period stele of Vishnu, similar in size and modelling, was sold at Christie’s New York on October 9, 2013, lot 686.
Although fragmentary, the sculpture reveals the artist’s remarkable ability to capture subtle facial and bodily contours. A delicate, nearly transparent sash drapes faintly across Vishnu’s torso, while the jewellery, including the necklaces, vaijayantimala cord, and armbands are rendered with keen observation and exquisite precision. This feature can also be found in the example published in Lefebvre d’Argencé and Bartholomew, Indian and South-East Asian Stone Sculptures from the Avery Brundage Collection, Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, 1969, pls.36.
The treatment of his belt and dhoti, visible beneath the soft naturalistic roll of his abdomen, further demonstrates the exceptionally high quality of the carving. The surviving portions of the back panel depict Lakshmi to Vishnu’s left and Saraswati to his right, and the the upper side panel, an elephant, vyala, makara, and youthful boy appear in low relief, adding lively narrative detail to the composition. Below the throne, the register is adorned with finely articulated lotus blossoms and donor figures.
The present stele may be compared to a closely related example in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1987.178), which shares comparable quality and similar areas of loss. Another Pala-period stele of Vishnu, similar in size and modelling, was sold at Christie’s New York on October 9, 2013, lot 686.