18th Oct, 2024 11:00
TWO-DAY AUCTION: Fine Asian Art, Buddhism and Hinduism
679
A RARE SANDSTONE EKAMUKHALINGA, PRE-ANGKOR PERIOD, 7TH-8TH CENTURY
Sold for €15,600
including Buyer's Premium
The surface smoothly polished with a square base and an octagonal mid-section rising to the incised and domed top. Centered by an image of Shiva which is meticulously carved with fine facial features, his neatly incised hair secured by a jeweled tiara.
Provenance: From the collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Old wear, traces of weathering and erosion, chips, nicks, scratches. The sandstone with fine old wear from worship within the culture, and a naturally grown patina, giving the piece an overall unctuous feel.
Dimensions: Height 65.5 cm
Ekamukhalinga are linga represented with a single anthropomorphic image of Shiva. The linga is a phallic symbol representing the regenerative force of this god. Although Shiva is known as the destroyer, he manifests the divine trinity in his form as the linga. As described in the Lingapurana, the square is symbolic of Brahma, the creator, the octagon represents Vishnu, the protector, and the cylindrical top represents Shiva.
Expert’s note: Original Khmer sandstone lingams have become exceedingly rare, particularly those like the present lot, with a top beautifully polished by centuries of rainfall and worship.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related ekamukhalinga, dated c. 700, 36.2 cm high, in the Norton Simon Museum, accession number M.2010.1.202.S. Compare a closely related mukhalinga dated to the 7th-8th century in the NMC, illustrated by Helen Ibbitson Jessup and Thierry Zephir in Sculpture of Angkor, 1997, p. 177, pl. 23.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 25 March 2004, lot 153
Price: USD 22,705 or approx. EUR 34,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A stone ekamukhalinga, Khmer, pre-Angkor period, 8th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and manner of carving. Note the similar size (59.6 cm).
The surface smoothly polished with a square base and an octagonal mid-section rising to the incised and domed top. Centered by an image of Shiva which is meticulously carved with fine facial features, his neatly incised hair secured by a jeweled tiara.
Provenance: From the collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Old wear, traces of weathering and erosion, chips, nicks, scratches. The sandstone with fine old wear from worship within the culture, and a naturally grown patina, giving the piece an overall unctuous feel.
Dimensions: Height 65.5 cm
Ekamukhalinga are linga represented with a single anthropomorphic image of Shiva. The linga is a phallic symbol representing the regenerative force of this god. Although Shiva is known as the destroyer, he manifests the divine trinity in his form as the linga. As described in the Lingapurana, the square is symbolic of Brahma, the creator, the octagon represents Vishnu, the protector, and the cylindrical top represents Shiva.
Expert’s note: Original Khmer sandstone lingams have become exceedingly rare, particularly those like the present lot, with a top beautifully polished by centuries of rainfall and worship.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related ekamukhalinga, dated c. 700, 36.2 cm high, in the Norton Simon Museum, accession number M.2010.1.202.S. Compare a closely related mukhalinga dated to the 7th-8th century in the NMC, illustrated by Helen Ibbitson Jessup and Thierry Zephir in Sculpture of Angkor, 1997, p. 177, pl. 23.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 25 March 2004, lot 153
Price: USD 22,705 or approx. EUR 34,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A stone ekamukhalinga, Khmer, pre-Angkor period, 8th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and manner of carving. Note the similar size (59.6 cm).
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