Possibly northeastern Rajasthan, southern Haryana, or Uttar Pradesh, Mathura region
Late eleventh century CE
Phyllite; 61 x 36.9 x 14.3 cm
(24 x 14-1/2 x 5-5/8 in.)
Gift of Clara T. and Gilbert J. Yager, 82.5.1
Provenance: Acquired 22 January 1982 from Spink & Sons, Ltd., London; formerly in the collection of Leonidas Goulandris in London.
Inscription in Devanagari: “Sri Varahaji Sevak Swayambhumuni Madhupuri Satyug”1

In his third incarnation, Vishnu took the form of a boar, Varaha, and descended to save the earth goddess, personified as a woman, when she was trapped beneath the ocean by a demon. He is depicted here supporting her on his raised elbow while she joins her hands in gratitude. The serpent couple crouching beneath his raised left foot also acknowledges Varaha’s feat with folded hands as they submit to him. The Ackland’s Varaha displays Vishnu’s emblems in his three hands: a conch, disc, and mace. His lotus rises elegantly, forming a parasol to shelter the deity. The four-headed Brahma with his book, Shiva with his trident, and snakes are perched above columns on either side of Varaha, while, below, praying devotees flank the central deity.

During the medieval period, Varaha was a common form of Vishnu carved on both exterior walls and the temple sanctum in northern India. The stone, shape, and high quality of carving confirm that this figure belonged in a temple sanctum or that of a sub-shrine. The distinctive, highly polished black phyllite is rare in northwestern India, and was typically reserved for sanctum pieces.2 For example, the body of the light-colored Chaturbhuja temple at Isawal, in Rajasthan, from the late tenth century houses a black phyllite Vishnu in its sanctum (Fig. 33).3

The broken upper surfaces of the Ackland Varaha indicate that it probably had the elaborate frame typical of sanctum pieces as at Isawal and the Vishnu in the National Museum in New Delhi. The Ackland figure would have constituted the central part with three framing pieces that are now missing: vertical panels on either side of the central deity divided into several registers filled with attendants; and an arch above, which would have connected the three parts below. MN

1 The inscription on the base mentions a “Swayambhumuni of Madhupuri,” perhaps a patron or priest who participated in worship at some point in the life of the object. Madhupur here may refer to Mathura. However, the inscription is probably a later addition as it is incised lines are quite crude compared to the fine carving of the figures.
2 See the essay by Darielle Mason, p. 89. See also Vishakha N. Desai and Darielle Mason, God, Guardians, and Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India AD 700–1200 (New York and Ahmedabad: Asia Society Galleries and Mapin Publishing, 1993), 265.
3 Other figures of similar stone and style include the Vishnu dated to 1147, in the National Museum of India, New Delhi; a fragment of standing male figure in the Dallas Museum of Art; the Varaha in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; the Varaha in the Victoria and Albert Museum (IM 307–1921); and the standing Vishnu from the Harshanatha temple at Harshagiri, northern Rajasthan, dated to 956–73 CE; oral communication from Darielle Mason, 10/25/2000.