STATUE DE VISHNU EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE INCRUSTÉ... Lot n° 7

STATUE DE VISHNU EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE INCRUSTÉ D'ARGENT GRANDE RÉGION DU KASHMIR, VII/VIIIE SIÈCLE Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4842 16.9 cm (6 5/8 in.) high Footnotes: A SILVER INLAID COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF VISHNU GREATER KASHMIR, 7TH/8TH CENTURY 克什米爾 七/八世紀 銅錯銀毘濕奴像 Published: Arman Neven, Sculpture des Indes, Brussels, 1978, p. 77, no. 136. Exhibited: Sculpture des Indes, Société Générale de Banque, Brussels, 8 December 1978 - 31 January 1979. Provenance: With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s This distinctive bronze of Vishnu follows an early aesthetic tradition placing the chakra and mace in his lower hands, where they could serve as structural supports for the sculpture. This function is similarly exhibited by a terracotta sculpture from the Gupta period in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1987.142.293). A rare bronze representation of Surya attributed to the 6th/7th century in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (EA1986.2), also employs this device, but the attributes are personified as attendant figures. The figure's pronounced pectorals, wild curly tresses recalling Gandharan flowing locks, and simple three-leaf crown, all suggest an attribution to the region of Greater Kashmir, at the crossroads of Northwest India, the Himalayas, and Central Asia. The region thus spanned Himachal Pradesh, Swat, and even beyond the Khyber Pass, modern-day Afghanistan. For instance, the Ashmolean Surya, which displays a similar facial type with added silver inlay, is attributed to the Kabul Valley. An early Vajrapani attributed to 6th-/7th-century Kashmir also shares these features, with the addition of a svelte, lightly clad physique similar to that of the present sculpture, a silhouette derived from the Gupta period (see Bonhams, New York, 18 March 2013, lot 40). An Avalokiteshvara attributed to 7th-century Swat provides a further landmark in the corpus of enigmatic, early Northwestern Indian bronzes which the present sculpture belongs to (von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, p. 83, no. 5A). For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com Very good overall condition with extensive wear to the whole from prolonged ritual worship within the culture. Silver inlaid eyes remain intact, as visible in images. Losses to bun-shaped foot on right side of platform base. And a casting flaw to the hole between the legs between the feet in the base. Minor dents and abrasions to the whole, as seen in images. Please contact Sidney Lee (sidney.lee@bonhams.com) for related condition report images.