27th Jun, 2025 11:00
Fine Asian Art Summer Sale
307
AN ARCHITECTURAL WOOD BRACKET, TAMIL NADU, 17TH-18TH CENTURY
Sold for €1,430
including Buyer's Premium
South India. Superbly carved in openwork, each side depicting a rearing horse with its hoofs upon a vyala which is further supported on the shoulders of a makara. A mustachioed and turbaned rider sits atop the caparisoned horse, holding a riding crop in one hand and the reins of the animal taut with the other, above another man kneeling on the vyala’s head and supporting the horse. The fierce vyala with an arched body, bulging eyes, and a gaping mouth revealing sharp fangs.
Provenance: Chicago trade, acquired from a local private estate.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and natural imperfections including expected age cracks with associated touchups. Few chips, small losses, signs of weathering, encrustations. The wood with a rich, naturally grown, dark patina.
Weight: 12.9 kg
Dimensions: Height 100 cm
The present wood carving is closely related to the famous stone carvings of horses in the Sheshagirirayar Mandapa at the Ranganatha temple of Srirangam, dating to the 17th century. Such elaborately carved architectural segments are common to south Indian stone and wood architecture. Found in religious and secular buildings, they serve either as brackets or piers. They also are frequently used in mobile temples constructed to carry images in festival procession. The intricate carving makes these examples seem extremely light, and it is unlikely that they could have supported much weight. An extraordinarily complex composition of figures and ornamental designs, the sections are ornately carved on each side so that the front and back cannot be distinguished. The preeminent motif is a galloping animal carrying a militant warrior.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related architectural fragment with riders and mythical beasts, Tamil Nadu, 18th century, exhibited in the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Puja and Piety: Hindu, Jain and Buddhist Art From the Indian Subcontinent, 17 April-28 August 2016. Compare a related architectural section with heroic figures, 162.6 cm high, Tamil Nadu, 19th century, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number FIC.2899.2.
South India. Superbly carved in openwork, each side depicting a rearing horse with its hoofs upon a vyala which is further supported on the shoulders of a makara. A mustachioed and turbaned rider sits atop the caparisoned horse, holding a riding crop in one hand and the reins of the animal taut with the other, above another man kneeling on the vyala’s head and supporting the horse. The fierce vyala with an arched body, bulging eyes, and a gaping mouth revealing sharp fangs.
Provenance: Chicago trade, acquired from a local private estate.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and natural imperfections including expected age cracks with associated touchups. Few chips, small losses, signs of weathering, encrustations. The wood with a rich, naturally grown, dark patina.
Weight: 12.9 kg
Dimensions: Height 100 cm
The present wood carving is closely related to the famous stone carvings of horses in the Sheshagirirayar Mandapa at the Ranganatha temple of Srirangam, dating to the 17th century. Such elaborately carved architectural segments are common to south Indian stone and wood architecture. Found in religious and secular buildings, they serve either as brackets or piers. They also are frequently used in mobile temples constructed to carry images in festival procession. The intricate carving makes these examples seem extremely light, and it is unlikely that they could have supported much weight. An extraordinarily complex composition of figures and ornamental designs, the sections are ornately carved on each side so that the front and back cannot be distinguished. The preeminent motif is a galloping animal carrying a militant warrior.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related architectural fragment with riders and mythical beasts, Tamil Nadu, 18th century, exhibited in the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Puja and Piety: Hindu, Jain and Buddhist Art From the Indian Subcontinent, 17 April-28 August 2016. Compare a related architectural section with heroic figures, 162.6 cm high, Tamil Nadu, 19th century, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number FIC.2899.2.
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