A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF SHIVA SUKHASANAMURTI


SOUTH INDIA, VIJAYANAGARA PERIOD, 15TH/16TH CENTURY14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm) high
|This South Indian sculpture of Shiva is a tour de force of powerful modelling and rich detail. Shiva's seated pose achieves a commanding width while his broad torso and shoulders mimic the shape of a bull's head. Shiva's large hands have strong pointed nails. His handsome face has a pronounced smile and wide eyes to engage the viewer in darshan. His tall headdress is an exquisite arrangement of matted locks and crown leaves topped by a lotus bud and completed by a crescent and an effigy of the goddess Ganga, the personification of India's sacred river Ganges, rarely seen on sculptures of Shiva other than Nataraja. The sculptor has closely followed the prescribed iconography for a depiction of Shiva Sukhasanamurti: a handsome manifestation of Shiva literally meaning "pleasant posture" (see Rao, Elements of Hindu Iconography, Vol.2, New York, 1968, pp.129-30). This manifestation shows Shiva holding an axe and deer in his back hands, symbols of his sure victory over enemies and dominion over animals. The gestures (mudras) of his front hands offer devotees protection (abhaya) and wish-fulfilment (varada). Shiva Sukhasanamurti wears silk garments and a tiger skin around his legs, a sacred chord across his chest (yajnopavita), serpent bands around his biceps (sarpa-kankanas), and different earrings in each ear: one ring-shaped, the other in the form of a makara. The bronze sculpture is an accomplished example of the mature Vijayanagara period. Following the schema outlined by Sivaramamurti, one of the period's telltale stylistic characteristics is the present positioning of the deer facing outward while turning his neck toward Shiva; later bronzes depict the deer facing outward entirely (Sivaramamurti, South Indian Bronzes, New Delhi, 1963, p.41). Other Vijayanagara-period features of this bronze include the axe's barrel shape, the rendering of the sacred chord (yajnopavita) separating in three strands across the chest, and certain adornments such as the beaded bands around the legs, the flowers on his tresses, and the splendid jeweled band above the navel (udarabhanda) (ibid., pp.29-41). A 15th-century Vijayanagara bronze of Saint Sundara in the Norton Simon Museum (F.1972.19.6.S) also has a similar, notably fine, treatment of its headdress, a similar facial type, and similarly shaped lotus petals around its base. Provenance Sotheby's, New York, 24 September 2004, lot 35