CENTRAL INDIA

PROBABLY MADHYA PRADESH

10^TH – 11^TH CENTURY

H. 43 CMS, 17 INS

A beautifully carved red sandstone figure of an attendant to the Hindu god Shiva, wielding a trisula (trident) in his left hand, with a gentle benign expression and adorned with jewellery.

Lord Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. One of his identifying attributes is the trisula, or trident.

This sculpture is reminiscent of the deities at the great, Khajuraho Jain and Hindu temple complex in Madhya Pradesh. For a related example of Shiva at the Lakshmana temple, Khajuraho see p. 156 in Krishna Deva, Khajuraho, New Delhi: Brijbasi Printers Ltd, 1986.

Note: Mounted on its original wooden base.

Provenance: From an old private English collection.