Lot 50. A red sandstone figure of a female deity, North India, Rajasthan, circa 11th century; 95cm (37 3/8in) high. Sold for €35,655 (Estimate € 20,000-30,000). Photo Fabrice Gousset.

Adorned with a detailed necklace with heavy pendants in the centre a long single cord ending in a pearl pendant that falls between her prominent breasts. A second five-row necklace of pearls with shaped medallions passes over her breasts and across her stomach. Her lower diaphanous garment is defined by the presence of small wave-like motifs on her upper thighs, mostly obscured by the elaborate belt and beaded swags and bells that fall in arches over her thighs. Her straight legs are interrupted by a fragment of a flower garland that passes across her shins and her feet stand on a lotus-shaped pedestal.

Provenance: Willy H. Wolf, New York
Robert Rousset, Paris (1901-1981), acquired from the above on 25 January 1962
Jean-Pierre Rousset, Paris (1936-2021).

Referenced: Wm H. Wolff, Far Eastern Gallery, New York, in Oriental Art, Winter 1961, p.10.

Note: Far from the classic contrapposto position of female deities of the Indian medieval period, this hieratic representation engages the adorant with a surprising frontality.

Compare with a related more conventional figure of a Surasundari published by P.Pal, Indo-Asian Art from The John Gilmore Ford Collection, Baltimore, 1971, pl.10, and later sold at Bonhams New York, 17 March 2014, lot 78.

Loin de la position classique de contrapposto des divinités féminines de la période médiévale indienne, cette représentation hiératique présente l'adorateur à une frontalité surprenante.

Comparer avec une statue plus conventionnelle d'une Surasundari par P.Pal, Indo-Asian Art from The John Gilmore Ford Collection, Baltimore, 1971, pl.10 et vendue à Bonhams New York, 17 mars 2014, lot 78.

Bonhams. The Robert and Jean-Pierre Rousset Collection of Asian Art: A Century of Collecting - Part 1. Paris, 25 october 2022.