Shiva linga Shahi" art (Afghanistan / Pakistan)... Lot 27

Shiva linga Shahi" art (Afghanistan / Pakistan) ca. 7th century White marble. H. 65 cm Rare and important linga fragment sculpted with a representation of ithyphallic Shiva standing in sthanaka, surrounded by Nandi and probably one of the accompanying gana. He holds the vase, a rosary and a trident also making of.fice of an axe. The head of a deity supporting the god's feet appears between them in the lower part of the composition. White marble sculptures figuring mostly Hindu deities from this cultural area encompassing Gandhara are generally associated with the "Shahi" dynasties that ruled the region after the breakup of the Kushan Empire in the fourth century, the Kidarites who succeeded them, and the confused period of various invasions including that of the Svetahuna (Hephtalite Huns). The "Shahi" kingdoms seem to be historically attested in this vast region from the seventh to the early eleventh century CE. The general stylistics of this important linga fragment, and particularly the treatment of the god's face, still largely echoing the classical style developed in the region during the Kushan period, allow us to propose a dating to the beginning of the period, i.e. during the reign of the so-called "Turk Shahis" dynasty, which reigned until it was replaced by the new "Hindu Shahi" dynasty around 850 but had to move its capital from Kabul to Udabhandapura (today better known as Hund). While the majority of known works from this region are generally.attached to Buddhist cults, Hindu iconography is well attested and seems to have developed at the same time as Buddhist under the influence of the Kushan emperors. This is clearly attested by numismatics. As early as the first century CE, coins show on one side the profil of the reigning emperor, and on the other an aspect of Shiva or Vayu, or a Buddha. The ithyphallic aspects of Shiva are clearly attested on the coins of the emperor Vima Kadphises, father of the great Kanishka I. While the exact dates of these rulers are somewhat imprecise, we do know that an embassy was sent to Rome by Vima Kadphises to the Emperor Trajan, which places us at the very beginning of the second century AD. Beyond numismatics, representations of the ithyphallic Shiva are also attested in schist, as evidenced by the three-sided Shiva in the Berlin Museum dated to the second century AD (Inv. MIK I 5888). It would seem that the peak of Shahi art was in the seventh and eighth centuries and was expressed in many Buddhist sites, but also in Hindu cult sites from Bamiyan and Kabul to Gilgit and Bolor-Chilas. The production of white marble sculptures during this period seems to have been mostly associated with Hindu shrines. Among the major works of this style, it is possible to mention the famous Surya surrounded by Danda and Pingala found in Khair Khaneh, reproduced many times today in the Kabul museum, the famous Ganesha of Gardez and Sakar Darah, the Uma-Maheshvara group of Tepe Skandar and many other more fragmentary pieces. Among these fragments, a pedestal from Tepe Skandar, now preserved in the Kabul Museum, shows a bust of a goddess whose hands supported the feet of the main deity, now disappeared. This iconography is therefore the same as the one we find on our Shiva, and can be compared to two other fragments, one coming from Sahr-i Bahlol and now preserved in the Peshawar Museum (Inv.1427), and the other in the Lahore Museum (Inv.777) in Pakistan. A limestone sculpture depicting a three-sided aspect of Shiva said to come from the 'Salt Hills' region of Punjab (Pakistan) and exhibited in Brussels in 2013 during the exhibition 'Corps de l'Inde / The body in Indian Art and Thought' presents us with the god with feet supported by a female deity identified as Prithvi, a goddess associated with the earth. If the one- or four-faced linga (Mukhalinga) are well known in "Shahi" territory and throughout Asia, examples presenting a full-length image of Shiva backed by the phallic symbol seem to be of insignificant rarity throughout the Indian world, and belong to the earliest periods. The most famous is undoubtedly that of Gudimallam in Andhra Pradesh. Despite its fragmentary nature, both in terms of its sculptural qualities and its iconography and dimensions, this Shiva Linga ranks among the major works in the tiny corpus of Shahi statuary recorded to date. Bibliographical reference for Turk Shahi art: - Shoshin Kuwayama: "The Turki Shahis and Relevant Brahmanical Sculpture. Pour enchérir sur ce lot, merci de vous enregistrer auprès de Clara Golbin à l’étude : c.golbin@cornette-saintcyr.com Aucune enchère ne sera acceptée sur le Live. Une consignation est exigée pour enchérir sur ce lot. In order to bid on this lot, please contact Clara Golbin to register : c.golbin@cornette-saintcyr.com . Online bidding by Live will not be possible. A deposit is required to bid on this lot. 如閣下欲競件拍品，請與本拍賣行聯繫，辦理相關競投手續。本件拍品不參與網絡競拍。需要 欧元的押金才能对此出价。 請發送此郵件完成註冊： c.golbin@cornette-saintcyr.com