AN INDIAN SANDSTONE CARVING OF THE HEAD OF A HINDU... Lot 402

AN INDIAN SANDSTONE CARVING OF THE HEAD OF A HINDU DEVA 10TH/11TH CENTURY Probably depicting Vishnu, the second god of the Trimurti and Preserver of the Universe, his downcast almond-shaped eyes with incised pupils and set beneath arched eyebrows, wearing an elaborate karanda mukuta decorated with three kirtimukha disgorging strings of pearls, with a lotus flower carved to the top of the headdress, all raised on a modern stand, 19cm. Provenance: formerly the collection of Mr and Mrs J M van Dongen, The Netherlands; and then the collection of Mr Richard Nathanson (d.2018), London. Together with authentication documentation from Marcel Nies Oriental Art, dated 9th January 2017. A copy of the Nies documentation is available. Richard Nathanson began his career at Sotheby's in 1966 and was immediately captivated by Impressionist and early 20th century art. He subsequently set up as an independent art advisor in that field, in which he became well respected and known, in particular for his involvement with the work of artists such as Sisley, Modigliani, Rouault, Bonnard and Albert Houthuesen. During his lifelong career in the art world, Richard expanded his expertise across time and space and gathered an extraordinarily eclectic collection of artworks which included classical, medieval, African, Asian and Oceanic pieces as well as folk art, natural forms and early toys. As he learnt more about these cultures and the art they inspired, his profound admiration for them grew, broadening his spiritual and philosophical outlook. He observed the intense affinities between these pieces, sometimes separated by millennia and thousands of miles and was fascinated by the conversations that arose between these various expressions of human experience. Richard felt that art had the ability to give hope and inspiration in the human quest for truth and beauty.