A stone figure of Ayyanar

SOUTH INDIA, NOLAMBA STYLE, 9TH/10TH CENTURY

Details

A stone figure of Ayyanar
South India, Nolamba style, 9th/10th century
The saint seated on an oval base with his left knee raised and secured by the yogapada, the left arm extended and the right bent at his side, adorned with upavita, multiple necklaces, armlets, bracelets, anklets, and a sash about his waist, the face with pursed lips and almond-shaped eyes flanked by disk earrings, the matted hair in an elaborate jatamukuta framing the face and upper back
17¾ in. (43.8 cm.) high

Provenance

Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, 1988
Christie's, New York, 17 September 1998, 70

Lot Essay

The Nolambas were a powerful dynasty that ruled over parts of what is now the state of Karnataka as vassals of the mighty Rashtrakuta Empire. Following that empire's collapse in the late 10th century, the Nolambas were overrun by the Western Gangas - the Ganga king Marasimha took the name Nolambakulantaka ("Slayer of the Nolambas"). For another South Indian granite figure of Ayyanar, but in lalitasana, in the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, cf. P. Pal, A Collecting Odyssey, 1997, cat. no. 295.

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