Inventory no.: 178

Vishnu & Consorts – Vijayanagar period

SOLD

Vishnu with consorts Bhu Devi & Sri Devi

South India

Vijayanagar period, late 16th century

heights: 17.5 cm (Vishnu); approx 14 cm (consorts)

This trio of Vishnu and his two consorts Bhu Devi and Sri Devi, was cast in south India in the late sixteenth century. Vishnu is standing, holding a chakra and a sankha in his secondary arms and his principal arms are in varada, by his side. He wears various body ornaments, a striped dhoti with prominent, flowing ribbons and a tall crown. His consorts are similarly attired. Each figure stands on a lotus pedestal. The trio has a beautiful, chocolate patina.

Complete earlier sets of Vishnu and his consorts are difficult to find; typically the pieces become separated from one another.

Provenance

collected in India in the 1870s and kept in a UK family collection thereafter.

References

a near identical set is illustrated in Christie’s London, ‘Islamic, Indian, South-East Asian Manuscripts, Miniatures and Works of Art’, June 16, 1987, lot 368.

Inventory no.: 178

SOLD