NEW YORK, March 16 (Xinhua) -- An around 1000-year-old blackstone sculpture of Hindu warrior goddess Durga will be on sale next Wednesday at Christie's in New York.
"From day one, many female deities have been commonly associated with fertility," said Isabel McWilliams, specialist in the Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art department in New York. "But in this stone figure of the Hindu goddess Durga from northeast India, we see one of the most popular examples of a female deity who is harnessing a much wider range of cosmic powers."
Durga, also known as Devi or Shakti, is an omnipotent, fearsome deity who combats evil forces. As a warrior goddess, she is frequently depicted in Hindu sculpture atop a tiger or lion, often carrying weapons. In this sculpture, Durga is depicted in her manifestation as Mahishasuramardini, slayer of the shapeshifting buffalo demon Mahishasura.
In the over-four-feet (131 cm) high sculpture, Durga is seen in the precise moment of spearing Mahishasura. "You see that the buffalo's head is severed from the body," said the specialist. "And in killing the buffalo, she's also killing Mahishasura, seen here as the demon figure atop the animal. It's quite a dramatic image that captures the decisive moment in the narrative."
Between the 8th and 12th centuries, the regions of Bihar and Bengal (modern-day northeast India and Bangladesh) were politically and culturally unified under the reign of the Pala kings. Stone sculptures of the later period - carved from grey or black schist - reflected an eclectic mix of Buddhist and Hindu iconography.
"The forms on this example, dating from the late 10th to the early 11th century, are particularly balanced and beautifully carved; the exquisite modelling of her many arms and torso convey both strength and suppleness," said McWilliams. "The stone itself has a glow to it, and the carving is executed with the minute detail and fine modelling that are typical of the period. Everything from her jewellery to her eyebrow is precisely articulated."
"To find a sculpture of this date, of this size and in such good condition is extremely rare," said McWilliams.
The sculpture is one of the art works featured at Christie's sales of Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian art during its Asian Art Week from March 16-23 in New York. Many of these works emerge from Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain contexts.