Probably Karnataka, Halebid region
Twelfth to thirteenth century CE
Chloritic schist; 100.4 x 75.3 x 9.3 cm
(39-1/2 x 29-5/8 x 7-5/8 in.)
Gift of Harry Lenart, Los Angeles, 71.22.1
Provenance: Acquired 28 October 1971.
Surrounded by a forest of ornamentation, exquisitely bejeweled, and elaborately crowned, Vishnu stands upon his lotus pedestal flanked by a female attendant on each side. In his upper right hand, the deity may have once held a disc (chakra) from which draping foliage sprouts below in a three-tiered arrangement, while his upper left hand held the mace (gada). The lower left hand may have held the conch shell (shanka), while his lower right hand displayed the lotus blossom (padma) in his palm.1 At his shoulders are mythical semi-aquatic beasts (makaras) perched on columns, with floral ornament issuing from their mouths.
An extremely ornate aureole (prabhamandala) comprised of three intricate decorative bands frame the figure, connected to it by eight floral struts. Sinuous and elegant flames dance along the arch, and Vishnu’s ten incarnations are perched on wave-like motifs at the periphery of the sculpture. At the lower right is Vishnu’s fish incarnation, Matsya. Seated above is the tortoise Kurma, followed by the boar Varaha, distinguished by his snout and tusks. Next to him is the fourth incarnation Narasimha the Man-Lion, and seated under his umbrella is the dwarf Vamana. The seated figure on the top left represents Parashurama holding his battle-axe. Below him is Rama, followed by Balarama, with his serpent headdress. Next, the Buddha sits with legs crossed and hands placed in his lap, and Kalki, the future avatar, sits at the base of the arch holding his sword in his right hand.
The lavish employment of intricate ornamentation, such as the cascade of drapery folds, represents the hallmark of sculpture created during the reign of the Hoyshala dynasty in Karnataka in southwestern India.2 This piece probably comes from a temple in the Halebid area as it compares closely with several others dating from the twelfth century from this region in both treatment and ornamental motifs (Figs. 60, 61).3 Some Hoyshala-period temple walls in this region display a staggered square or stellate form, creating numerous recesses and projections that offer opportunity for rich sculptural decoration.4 The close-grained gray schist, soft and malleable when quarried, allowed artists to carve the wealth of densely detailed, lace-like ornament. Sandstone used previously in the region would not have easily sustained this treatment. Once removed from the quarry, the stone stiffened and the edges of drapery folds and ornamental motifs attained the crispness of metalwork.5 AB
1 For Hoyshala conventions of positioning and style of these attributes, see Gerard Foekema, A Complete Guide to Hoysala Temples (Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1996) 31–32; T. A. Gopinatha Rao, Elements of Hindu Iconography, vol. 1, pt. 1 (New York: Paragon Book Reprint Corp., 1968), 227–34, plates LXIX, LXX, and LXXI. See also Kirsti Evans, Epic Narratives in the Hoysala Temples: The Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavata Purana in Halebid, Belur, and Amrtapura, (Leiden; New York; Koln: Brill, 1997), 5–6.
2 Most of the temples were patronized by generals, ministers, merchants, or their wives, rather than the kings themselves; Adam Hardy, Indian Temple Architecture: Form and Transformation (New Delhi: IGNCA and Abhinav Publications, 1995), 242.
3 For examples, see Pratapaditya Pal, The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection from the Pan-Asian Collection, (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1977) fig. 87; Calambur Sivaramamurty, Art of India (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1977), 413, fig. 615.
4 On the stellate ground plans of these temples, see Adam Hardy, Indian Temple Architecture, 250.
5 This quality of the stone has been used by scholars such as Henry Cousens to classify the region’s architecture. See Ajay J. Sinha, Imagining Architects: Creativity in the Religious Monuments of India (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2000), 45.