India, Uttar Pradesh, 1^st century BC to 1^st century AD. The yakshi superbly carved, looking down toward her raised right hand holding a sprig of mango leaves. She is richly adorned with elaborate jewelry, including a bracelet, an armlet, two fine necklaces, a large round jewel on her forehead, and huge, twisted earplugs, with the lobes extending to her shoulders. She is wearing a light veil billowing around her shoulders, secured by two broad ribbons wrapped around her head like a turban.

Provenance: From a notable collector in London, United Kingdom.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, losses, minor signs of weathering and erosion, few structural cracks.

Weight: 75.1 kg
Dimensions: Height 51 cm (excl. stand) and 63 cm (incl. stand), Width 40 cm

With an associated metal stand. (2)

This fragment would once have been an upright post of a vedika, the protective fence around a stupa. The ancient Indian tradition of building stupas predates the emergence of Buddhism and Jainism in the 5th century BCE but later became closely identified with both religions. The Buddha’s familiarity with the landmark inspired his instruction for his cremated remains to be divided and buried beneath a number of stupas in the regions where he had preached. By incorporating the images of goddesses to the surrounding railings, the stupa form maintained its association with popular religious traditions, as theologians realized they could never eliminate the day-to-day customs of those they wished to convert.

Shalabhanjika is a term found in Indian art and literature with a variety of meanings. In Buddhist art, it means an image of a woman or yakshi next to a tree, often holding a sprig of mango leaves. The position of the Salabhanjika is also related to the position of Maya when she gave birth to Gautama Buddha under an ashoka tree in a garden in Lumbini, while grasping its branch.

Expert’s note: For a detailed commentary on the present lot, elaborating on the meaning of the Shalabhanjika and showing many further comparisons to examples in both public and private collections, please see the lot description on www.zacke.at. To receive a PDF copy of this academic dossier, please refer department.

Literature comparison: Compare a related sandstone fragment depicting a Shalabhanjika, from a stupa gate at Sanchi, dated to the 1^st century, in the collection of the British Museum, museum number 1842,1210.1. Also compare a red sandstone Shalabhanjika from Mathura, dated to the 2^nd century, in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession number IM.72-1927. Also compare a Bharhut railing, dated c. 100 BC, in the Indian Museum, Kolkata, with a Shalabhanjika on the endpost.

Auction result comparison: Compare a related red sandstone yakshi from Mathura, dated circa 2nd century, the fragment of related size (45.5 cm high) but the figure much smaller as it takes up only little more than half of the relief, at Christie’s New York in Indian and Southeast Asian Art on 31 March 2005, lot 45, sold for USD 60,000.