A MAGNIFICENT SANDSTONE STATUE OF NANDI, PRE-ANGKOR PERIOD, 8TH-9TH CENTURY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

Exhibited: Museum der Völker (formerly Haus der Völker, Museum für Kunst und Ethnographie), Schwaz, Tyrol, Austria, Das Gedächtnis der Steine. Seltene Steinreliefs und Figuren aus Asien, 7 November 2015 – 1 May 2016.

Cambodia. Superbly carved, the sacred animal depicted in a recumbent position atop a rectangular plinth. The young bull resting its weight on the right side, with the right hind leg folded beneath its massive body, and its tail extending gracefully to the right, its tip draped over the left hind leg. A prominent hump rises behind its neck, which is adorned with a large necklace composed of circular ornaments.

The head, exquisitely sculpted, is held upright with refined poise. The almond-shaped eyes are open and alert, flanked by large funnel-shaped ears, below the short horns, while the closed muzzle conveys a serene and composed expression—its gaze once directed toward the sanctuary entrance.

Provenance: Bangkok art trade, 1980s. Professor Gert Chesi, acquired from the above for the Museum der Völker (formerly Haus der Völker, Museum für Kunst und Ethnographie), Schwaz, Tyrol, Austria, and subsequently de-accessed. Collection of Gerhard Merzeder (b. 1963), internationally published and acclaimed fashion and portrait photographer, Vienna, Austria, assembled since the 1980s. Gert Chesi (b. 1940) is an Austrian photographer, author, and art collector. In 1995, Chesi founded the Museum der Völker (formerly Haus der Völker, Museum für Kunst und Ethnographie), Schwaz, Tyrol, Austria, a museum of art and ethnography whose collection consists mainly of objects acquired during Chesi’s travels through Africa and Asia.
Condition: Very good condition with expected wear, signs of weathering and erosion, minor encrustations, light nicks, surface scratches, natural fissures, and small chips. The left ear with an old repair.

Weight: 33.8 kg
Dimensions: Length 53.5 cm

Expert’s note: This early Cambodian temple sculpture is far more than a representation of a sacred animal—it was conceived to evoke a profound spiritual presence, transcending the physical form itself. The Nandi, powerfully yet sensuously carved, radiates both strength and serenity. Its inspired expression and beautifully modeled body reveal an austerity of design balanced with harmonious, flowing volumes. Remarkable from every angle, the piece exemplifies the rare artistic achievements of the pre-Angkorian period, embodying both devotional purpose and the refined aesthetic of early Cambodian sculpture.

Shiva’s bull, Vrishabha, is his faithful mount and most devout worshiper—the embodiment of devotion. The young bull is popularly but incorrectly called Nandi, ‘the joyful’, but is better referred to simply as Vrishabha, the ‘white bull’. He is understood as an expression of Shiva’s supreme wisdom and thus is also worshiped as a theriomorphic form of Shiva himself; note the third eye depicted on the bull’s forehead, associated with the god’s power to reveal divine knowledge. Shiva’s bull assumed an independent cult status. Shrines to Shiva’s bull—known in Khmer as Preah Koh—are popular in modern-day Cambodia, testifying to the resilience of such cults.

In Cambodia, Nandi is also known as ‘the Fortunate One’ and was traditionally depicted as the vehicle of Shiva and his Shakti, Parvati. This sculpture of kneeling Nandi originally stood opposite a temple dedicated to the mighty Shiva. Depictions of Nandi can also be seen in a variety of other forms and locations, such as bas-reliefs on door lintels and in sculptures depicting Shiva with his Shakti. In several inscriptions, Shiva is described as an ancestral spirit riding a bull. Nandi as an individual statue is considered a sacred deity, representing Shiva himself and symbolizing the universal cycle of creation, maintenance, and destruction.

Cambodia's earliest religious sculptures were made before the unification of the Khmer empire by Jayavarman II in the ninth century, in the style known as Pre-Angkor. The figurative style is relatively naturalistic, with well-observed forms and deliberately gentle volumes harmoniously flowing into each other. The style reveals the influence of Indian statues of the Gupta period, though the treatment of the body is freer and less muscular. The shape of the necklace is also an early stylistic trait. Similar stylistic comparisons can be made with only a small number of individual Nandi images known from Cambodia.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related pre-Angkor sandstone carving of Nandi from Southern Cambodia, dated 7th century, 53 cm long, in the National Museum of Cambodia, accession number KA.1584, and included in the seminal exhibition Lost Kingdoms: Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Early Southeast Asia, 5th to 8th Century, 15 April-27 July 2014, New York, cat. no. 102.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Paris, 13 June 2018, lot 238
Price: EUR 35,000 or approx. EUR 41,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A sandstone carving of Nandi, Cambodia, Khmer Empire, second half 10th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, stone, manner of carving, and subject, with similar pose, features, and base. Note the size (53 cm) and later dating.