A BLACK STONE BUST OF DEVI


NORTH INDIA, CIRCA 12TH CENTURY 20 1/4 in. (51.4 cm) high
|The sculptor has carved a powerful goddess, whose composed expression furthers the sentiment imparted by the remnants of her lower right hand displaying the gesture of protection (abhaya mudra). Highly prized in medieval North India, the black stone used to carve her was imported from distant regions and used for statuary in temple interiors. The sculpture almost certainly arises from the Shakta tradition in Hinduism, which considers our metaphysical reality as metaphorically feminine, wherein the Great Goddess (Devi) is identified as the supreme deity manifesting in various forms, by comparison to the many male deities that merely utilize her divine power. Here, Saivite iconography suggests she might represent Durga, a manifestation of the Great Goddess at her most formidable. Her large, full breasts, her sword and trident, and her matted locks arranged into a tall chignon bearing a crescent moon, are all congruent with Durga's iconography. If so, then compared to more prevalent depictions, such as her subduing the Buffalo Demon (Durga Mahishasuramardini), this sculpture is a rare four-armed representation of Durga. Alternatively, especially given her hieratic pose, this figure might represent one of the sixty-four or eighty-one goddesses found in circular Yogini temples, believed to bestow a range of magical powers on their worshipers, as noted by Dehejia (Devi: The Great Goddess, Washington, 1999, p.242.) Regardless, the sculpture exemplifies bold and immutable representations of the feminine divine so lauded in Indian art.  Provenance New York Private Collection Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 27 May 1965, lot 174 Estate of Dorothy Beskind (1917-2014), New York Thence by descent