AN EXCEPTIONALLY DETAILED AND FINELY CARVED BLACK STONE STELE OF KHASARPANA LOKESHVARA, PALA PERIOD, 11TH-12TH CENTURY

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AN EXCEPTIONALLY DETAILED AND FINELY CARVED BLACK STONE STELE OF KHASARPANA LOKESHVARA, PALA PERIOD, 11TH-12TH CENTURY Northeastern India, Bihar or Bengal. Avalokiteshvara is seated in lalitasana on a double-lotus throne, his pendent right leg resting on a diminutive padma, the right hand lowered in varada mudra and the left holding the stem of a lotus flowering beside the shoulder. He is clad in a diaphanous dhoti secured at the waist and richly adorned with beaded necklaces, armlets, bracelets, earrings, and an upavita. His serene face is modeled with almond-shaped eyes beneath gently arched brows centered by a drop-shaped urna, a slender nose, and full lips forming a calm smile, flanked by long pendulous earlobes, the head surmounted by an elaborate foliate crown centered by a small image of Amitabha Buddha. The deity is surrounded by attendant figures, with Bhrikuti and Hayagriva to his left and Tara and the youthful devotee Sudhana, his hands joined in anjali mudra, to his right. The elaborate mandorla is carved with scrolling foliage and rocky formations enclosing the Five Tathagathas seated within individual niches, while two further standing figures flank the central Buddha above. Below the throne are three devotees dancing and playing musical instruments. Dimensions: Height 94 cm Expert’s note: Until the 10th century, many large Pala steles of Avalokiteshvara show the Bodhisattva in a standing position. In the 11th and 12th centuries, however, the form of representation with two arms and seated in a relaxed position (lalitasana) prevails. This specific form is referred to in contemporary meditation and ritual texts (sadhana) as Khasaparna Lokeshvara ("the Lord of the world who glides through the air [to save all creatures]"). Avalokiteshvara (The Allseeing Lord), known variously as Lokeshvara (Lord of the World), Lokanatha (Savior of the World), and Padmapani (The Lotus-bearer), is the pre-eminent bodhisattva of Mahayana Buddhism, which developed in India during the early centuries of the Common Era, and has remained an inspiration to its followers to this day. As a result, he has a wide variety of iconographic forms in both India and all other countries of Asia where his cult spread, as is clear from the surviving archaeological and literary evidence. He was especially venerated in the region of present-day Bihar, West Bengal, and Bangladesh in the Indian subcontinent between the 8th and 12th centuries. The present sculpture is carved from the familiar black stone that occurs in the region of both Bihar and old Bengal (now West Bengal in India and Bangladesh). The material is identified in literature generically as schist but is also known as phyllite. The hardness of the stone allows it to be carved confidently into rich surfaces with both exuberant designs and fine details, as becomes abundantly evident in the present work. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related stele of Khasarpaṇa Avalokiteśvara, dated circa 11th century, in the National Museum of Bangladesh, Dhaka. Compare a closely related stone stele of Avalokiteshvara seated on Mount Potala, 90.5 cm high, dated to the 11th century, Bangladesh, in a private collection and on loan to the Victoria & Albert Museum, and illustrated by Susan L. Huntington, "Compassion in a Mountain Abode: A Pala Period Image of Avalokiteshvara". Orientations, volume 48, number 5, September/October 2017, pp. 78-87, fig. 1. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 3 October 2017, lot 14 Mid-Estimate: HKD 3,500,000 or approx. EUR 462,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, modeling, manner of carving, stone, and size (95.4 cm).

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