Gujarat or Rajasthan. The central face of Vishnu naturalistically carved with a serene expression, almond-shaped eyes below arched brows, full bow-shaped lips, and surmounted by ringlets below a tall ornate crown. His face is flanked by two of his most dramatic and ferocious avatars, the boar Varaha and lion Narasimha, each with a ferocious expression and crowned by a tiered mukuta, all backed by a beaded foliate nimbus.

The Solanki dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Gujarat in western India between 940 and 1244 CE. Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended to the Malwa region in present-day Madhya Pradesh. The Solanki family belonged to the Solanki clan of Rajputs, also known as Chaulukya. The name has originally been associated with the Agnivanshi Kshatriyas (Rajputs) in Northern India but has also been borrowed by other communities such as the Saharias as a means of advancement by the process of Sanskritization.

Provenance: A private collection in Belgium. Gordon Reece Gallery, London, 1999. The collection of A. John Lippitt, Hampshire, United Kingdom, acquired from the above. A copy of a receipt from Gordon Reece Gallery, addressed to John Lippitt and dated 2 December 1999, accompanies this lot. Gordon Reece is a collector of African and Indian tribal art and artefacts who founded the Gordon Reece Gallery in 1981, the first of its kind in the United Kingdom. Many of the objects he collected where donated to museums, including the V&A, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum, and when his gallery closed, a part of the inventory was auctioned at Bonhams London on 2 October 2007. John Lippitt (1928-2019) was a civil servant who dominated British industrial policy in the 1970s and became a commercial negotiator for the General Electric Company in East Asia. He was involved in major projects including the Guangdong power station in China, the Pergau Dam in Malaysia, and in defense and high technology projects all over Southeast Asia. Lippitt was said to be a tough negotiator, and his Chinese counterparts gave him the nickname ‘The man behind the jade screen’.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Wear, obvious losses, small chips, nicks and scratches, soil encrustations, and signs of weathering and erosion.

Weight: 43 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 41 cm (excl. stand). 51 cm (incl. stand)

With an associated metal stand. (2)

This complex form of Vishnu, first referred to by the name Vaikuntha in the 7^th century, is four-faced with the heads of a lion (right) and a boar (left) flanking a human head. He is also identifiable in this form by the epithet Para-Vasudeva, the ‘highest god’. The lion and boar represent Vishnu’s Varaha and Narasimha avatars. On some sculptures, the back of the halo is carved in low relief with a fourth face, a demonic, grimacing representation of Kapila, an immortal spirit who emerged from the Vedic ritual fire.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related marble head of Vaikuntha Chaturmurti, attributed “Gujarat/Rajasthan” and dated to the 11^th century, 37 cm high, illustrated by Kalpana Desai, Jewels on the Crescent: Masterpieces of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Formerly Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, 2002, p. 42, no. 32.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 15 March 2016, lot 315
Price: USD 25,000 or approx. EUR 32,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A black stone head of Vishnu, India, Western Rajasthan, circa 12^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of carving, and stone, with similar crown, curls, and face. Note the much smaller size (27.4 cm) and the lack of a halo or additional heads.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Zacke, Vienna, 17 October 2024, lot 192
Price: EUR 23,400
Description: An important gray chlorite head of Vaikuntha Vishnu, Kashmir, 8^th to early 9^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, albeit of earlier date and much smaller size (29 cm).