Lot 73
Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Eastern Java, probably from the Singosari Compound, Majapahit culture, ca. late 13th to early 16th century CE. A hefty sculpture carved from dark grey stone depicting Mahakala (also known as Mahakala Bhairava in Buddhism and Kala Bhairava in Hinduism), a wrathful form of the Hindu god Shiva who protects his devotees from their enemies. Mahakala stands next to a slender trishula (trident spear) with a knee-length skirt, dons bangles on his arms, wrists, and ankles, holds his left arm to his chest, and sports a multi-stranded necklace beneath drooping earrings. His serene countenance presents beady eyes beneath high-arching brows, full lips, and tall ears, all beneath a crown adorned with five human skulls and a flower-adorned top cap. The integral plinth and dorsal backing suggest this figure was once part of a larger series of figural carvings. Size: 6.5" L x 10.875" W x 19.7" H (16.5 cm x 27.6 cm x 50 cm)
Though a protector deity for his followers, Mahakala as a deity is derived from Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction. According to author Ben Meulenbeld, "Mahakala is the 'Great Black One' or 'Great Time.' Kala means time. Time is seen as the destroyer of everything and everyone, and therefore equated with death. On the one hand time is eternal, without beginning or end, always continuing. On the other, this eternity consists of little portions of time that are finite, like human life." (Meulenbeld, Ben. "Buddhist Symbolism in Tibetan Thangkas: The Story of Siddhartha and Other Buddhas Interpreted in Modern Nepalese Painting." Binkey Kok Publications, Havelte, The Netherlands, 2004, p. 66)
For a stylistically similar example of Mahakala found at the Singosari Tower Temple, please see: Scheurleer, Pauline Lunsingh. "The Well-Known Javanese Statue in the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, and Its Place in Javanese Sculpture." Artibus Asiae, 2008, Vol. 68, No. 2, p. 305, fig. 8.
Provenance: ex-private Maine, USA collection, acquired at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries, Thomaston, Maine, USA; ex-private old New England, USA collection, formed in the 1980s
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#151766
- Condition: Losses to areas of upper corners, peripheries, plinth, and small areas of figure as shown. Nicks and abrasions to plinth, limbs, body, head, peripheries, and verso, with softening to most finer details, and light encrustations. Nice earthen deposits throughout.
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| $5,000 | $9,999 | $500 |
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