A bronze figure of Vishnu Northeastern India, Bihar, Pala period, 9th century 6.75 in. (17.15 cm.) high Provenance: The collection of Simon Digby. Literature: John Siudmak, Indian and Himalayan Sculpture and Thankas from the Collection of the Late Simon Digby, London, 2011, pgs. 20-21, no. 3.
Vishnu stands in powerful samabhanga, holding a conch shell and a lotus bud in his upper hands. He is richly clad in elaborate jewelry, including a tall crown adorned with three triangular lobes, earrings, a multi-tiered necklace, armlets, a sacred thread (yajnopavita), a floral belt, and a long floral garland (vanamala) which falls all the way to his knees. Devotees or, perhaps, ayudha purushas, which are anthropomorphic forms of powers wielded by their source, flank Vishnu on either side. According to tradition these figures would be Chakrapurusha, the personification of his war discus (or chakra) and Gadadevi, the female personification of his mace. The two implements may have once been attached to the aureoles around the purushas, or atop Vishnu’s lower hands. It is possible that the aureole on the left figure doubles as Vishnu’s chakra. However, it remains possible that these are simply attendants as their gender does not appear to be distinguished and the implements are not visible. Every detail of the present work is representative of the early Pala style of sculpture: the wide facial features (inherited from Gupta-style archetypes); the concentric aureole with beaded and flaming borders; the moulded, rectangular stepped pedestal; and the openwork casting with visible armature at the backside which supports the technique. Compare the quality of the present bronze to a ninth-century example of the same subject at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession no. 2015.500.4.10). The iconographic details are strikingly similar--even the flower garland drapes around Vishnu’s body in the same fashion.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art comparable Vishnu Flanked by His Personified Attributes India (Bihar), Pala period, learly 9th century Bronze H. 20 3/4 in. (52.7 cm) Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015 2015.500.4.10
Simon Digby (1932–2010) was one of the most well-known and respected scholars of pre-Mughal India, as well as an adept translator (fluent in Hindu, Urdu, and Persian) and a discerning collector. Born in Madhya Pradesh to a British civil servant and judge, he began to absorb Indian culture at a young age and disseminated his broad body of knowledge far and wide.
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