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Orissa
Wood, polychromed
This beautiful pair of richly polychromed brackets depicts a musician carrying a string instrument and an attendant figure holding a chauri (fly-whisk). Standing on stepped bases, both figures are adorned with rich garments and wear long floral garlands. These figures likely originated from a natamandir, an addition to the shrine often adorned with sculptures of Devadasis and musicians.
Size (cms): 50(H) x 21(W) x 10(D)
Size (inches): 19.5(H) x 8.5(W) x 4(D)
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Mysore (Karnataka)
Wood
This unusual pierced panel portrays a pair of mythical Sharabhas perched atop swirling foliage, resting on a double lotus base. The mythical creatures, half-lion and half-bird, are delicately carved with scaly bodies and attractive patterned plumage. Their mouths are depicted spewing vegetation.
In Hindu mythology, Sharabha’s are a composite beast, part-lion and part-bird. Within Sanskrit literature, it initially appeared as an aggressive beast that roamed hilly and forest areas, clearing entire valley’s with a single jump. The mythological creature was later associated with Shaivism, appearing within some Puranic texts as a powerful incarnation of Shiva who assumes the form to pacify Narasimha – the fierce man-lion avatar of Vishnu worshipped by Vaishnava sect. Within Buddhist theology, Sharabha appears in Jataka Tales as a previous birth of the Buddha.
Size (cms): 50(H) x 29(W) x 9(D)
Size (inches): 19.5(H) x 11.5(W) x 3.5(D)
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Manilal Chimanlal & Co., Bombay
Silver, 5 Tolas
This rare rectangular silver bar, dating from the late 1950s to early 1960s, depicts a view of the Gateway of India with an embossed caption on one side. On the reverse, there is a map of undivided India, accompanied by details including its weight (5 tolas) and maker’s mark. The term ‘tola’ denotes a unit of mass commonly used in South Asia, with one tola equivalent to 11.66 grams. Therefore, this bar weighs 58.3 grams. It’s noteworthy that the majority of such bars would have been melted down by the Indian government and recast.
Size (cms): 3(H) x 2(W) x 1(D)
Size (inches): 1(H) x 1(W) x 0.5(D)
