Showing 1–12 of 16 results
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$195.00
This finely cast antique recumbent miniature statue with finely articulated features portrays Nandi decorated with jewels and sitting recumbent on a high-tiered throne. Waiting to serve his Lord Shiva and kneeling in reverence and worship, Nandi is a symbol of purity and strength. Small figurines like this were placed on home shrines with other deities and items of significance to the family. Made using lost wax casting method whose mold is destroyed after use, it is a one-of-a-kind piece in very good condition with casting and plating flaws in the rear and a surface scratch and minor plating loss on the back left side.
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$325.00
This small antique brass Nandi is well-proportioned, exquisitely handcrafted and has a wonderfully aged patina. He sits recumbent on a raised rectangular platform. Delicately incised with decorative details delineating the head, neck, snout and body, his right leg and tail are sinuous, graceful ornaments rather than defining features. His head is at a 45-degree with lyrically curved horns in contrast to most versions with horns extending backwards. This Nandi is based on a South Indian cow whose humpback is emphasized here by two parallel lines covering it as if is part of a saddle or another ornament feature.
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$245.00
This Hindu prayer bell was likely placed on a home or temple altar and in daily puja rituals. This simple yet elegant bell has a smooth and undecorated body with only incised parallel rings circling plain surfaces and is topped by a pair of Garudas sheltered by a hood of Nagas. Garuda, the mythical winged bird that is Vishnu’s mount, and Naga, a seven-headed hooded serpent, are natural enemies and when they are represented together, they symbolizes peace, a very appropriate adornment for the tranquility and serenity elicited by the pleasing sounds of a prayer bell.
Martin Lerner an Steven Kossak, The Lotus Transcendent: Indian and Southeast Asian Art from the Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Harry Abrams, New York, 1991.
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$450.00
This low profile bronze oil lamp from Trivandrum, South India is very similar to the one published in the 2006 exhibition catalog Flames of Devotion: Oil Lamps from South and Southeast Asia and the Himalayas issued to celebrate the gift of his collection by famous scholar and curator Pratapaditya Pal to UCLA’s Fowler Museum of Cultural History. Sean Anderson wrote the lamp from South India was “…an indicator of their dual role as devotional markers and articles of everyday use. With its attached ladle, the low-slung lamp includes a deep reservoir and cantilevered top with iconic imagery. The lines one sees on the edge of the plate suggest a link to the deity Shiva as they resemble the deity’s implement of choice, the trishul or three-pronged staff.” The distance from Trivandrum to Kerala where Pal’slamp was found is about 150 miles. The cobra-like end on both lamps may refer to Vasuki, the Hindu serpent often seen around Shiva’s neck. Vasuki is the serpent king (Nagaraja) of Hindu mythical semi-divine half-human and half cobra creatures. The lamp is in excellent condition with a wonderful patina.
Sources
Sean Anderson, Flames of Devotion: Oil Lamps from South and Southeast Asia and the Himalayas, Los Angeles, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, 2006.
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$210.00
This striking and finely designed bronze kumkum container was used in Hindu worship (puja). Also known as chopra containers, they were made from a variety of materials, although bronze was rather rare and used by wealthy Hindu women and royalty to store tikka kumkuma powder, as the poor could only afford those made from wood or pottery. Possibly made using the lost-wax process it is a well-shaped and ornamented cup with a flat lip surrounded by decorative bosses and a series of parallel lines resting atop ornamental leaves attached to a tubular trunk on a highly ornamental base. This antique piece purchased in the 1970s in Kathmandu, Nepal has a very fine patina.
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$125.00
This antique oil lamp represents Lakshmi one of the most popular goddesses in Hindu mythology. She sits in yoga posture with four arms on a lotus throne flanked by two elephants on the front and back of the lamp with raised trunks pouring water over. The bowl that holds oil is yoni shaped. The lamp is in good condition with a nicely aged patina and minor verdigris in the bowl and on the base. Letters on the bottom of the lamp probably identify the metalsmith who cast this piece.
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$195.00
This terracotta head was crafted during the Majapahit Empire in Java and was either part of a bas-relief frieze or made as a freestanding figurine. Most figures found are small decapitated heads with no bodies, and it is very rare to find a complete figure with a naturalistic facial expression. As with many heads, this one displays Javanese facial features, hairstyles and ear ornamentation typical of the period. It has a naturalistic facial expression and wears large round coiled earrings, possibly suggesting it represented someone of the upper classes. It is in very good condition given its age and use and is mounted on a metal stand. This item pairs with Majapahit Miniature Terracotta 1138.
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$195.00
This terracotta head was crafted during the Majapahit Empire in Java and was either part of a Hindu bas-relief frieze or made as a freestanding figurine. Most figures found are small decapitated heads with no bodies, and it is very rare to find a complete figure with a naturalistic facial expression. As with many heads, this one displays Javanese facial features, hairstyles and ear ornamentation typical of the period. It has a naturalistic facial expression and wears large round coiled earrings, possibly suggesting it represented someone of the upper classes. It is in very good condition given its age and use and is mounted on a metal stand. This items pairs with Majapahit Terracotta Head 1137.
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$245.00
This recumbent miniature statue with well articulated features portrays Nandi decorated with jewels and sitting on a high-tiered pedestal throne. Nandi figurines are placed on home altars for daily puja and are decorated with flowers and incense offerings as a sign of respect and this image has an attached incense holder for this purpose. It was probably placed on a home shrine along with other deities and items of significance to the family. Made using lost wax casting, it is a one-of-a-kind piece in very good condition with a fine patina and smooth surface, some pitting and surface losses consistent with age and use.
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$185.00
This finely crafted vintage votive silver spoon was part of an array of objects used for daily Hindu prayers (puja) which were arranged on a puja tray. Solidly cast, it is embellished with beautify flowing and lyrical incising from the elaborate handle down to and including the inside of the spoon it is covered with gorgeous linear designs, florals and stylized lotuses bordered with a stylized rope motif.
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$395.00
This finely carved vintage mask is called a Jauk manis mask. It represents the more gentle traits of a giant with human traits, normal features and a smile, and its white color is usually symbolic of purity. It can also be colored reddish or orange symbolizing an individual easy to anger. Collected in the 1970s in Lombok, this mask is rare as Lombok at that time had few tourists and the Balinese community of carvers living there generally did not sell their masks. It has a fine aged patina, hairline cracks and frayed eyebrows consistent with its age and use.
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$435.00
This Middle Hills hardwood mask from Eastern Nepal may be a local deity, ancestor or shaman mask. Its deep eye-sockets and pierced eyes stare at the viewer over a triangular nose above a lipless mouth with small gnashed teeth in a potent expression. Its forehead recedes to a crown with decorative Xs, vertical lines and triangular motifs. Shaped as a V with a flat chin, it is carved with geometric shapes and has a strong presence. Having a layered patina ranging from brown to the black seen in other antique masks, folk masks like this are being reproduced in Nepal but those with age are very difficult to find.
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