G772 A BLACK STONE STELE OF VISHNU

NORTHEAST INDIA, BENGAL

PALA PERIOD, CIRCA 12^TH CENTURY

H. 70 CMS, 27 ½ INS.

W. 35 CMS, 13 ¾ INS.

A black stone (phyllite) stele depicting a four-armed Vishnu standing on a double lotus pedestal and holding his attributes of a club, a disc, a conch and a lotus, flanked by a diminutive Lakshmi holding a fly whisk and Sarasvati playing the vina, with their attendants at their sides, the aureole with a Kala mask (a ‘face of glory’) at the apex flanked by sword-bearing apsara figures; a row of adorants and scrollwork along the lower front.

For a similar Vishnu see cat. No. 36 in Susan Huntington and John Huntington, Leaves from the Bodhi Tree: The Art of Pala India and Its International Legacy, Dayton Art Institute, 1990.

Provenance: From the Estate of a private German collector.