INDIA, CHAMBA, 9TH-10TH CENTURY

This sculpture from Himachal Pradesh from the tenth and eleventh centuries is stylistically comparable to that of Kashmir, unsurprising given the proximity of the two regions: the hill-town of Chamba, where many of the most important bronze figures originate, is less than two hundred miles from the Vale of Kashmir. Some stylistic and iconographical characteristics, however, do differentiate between the two regions. Iconographically, bronzes of Himachal Pradesh depict Ganesha seated on the backs of two lions, rather than a rat, which is his more commonly represented vahana, or vehicle. This iconographic choice seems to be limited to Himachal Pradesh and is not generally found in other Indian sculpture.
‌The present work is distinguished by the unusual nimbus, which is characterized by a band of circular apertures; in contrast, most bronzes from Himachal display a plain, conjoined nimbus-aureole. Compare the present work with two bronze images of Ganesha from the Chamba area, illustrated by M. Postel, et al., Antiquities of Himachal, Bombay, 1985, p. 102, figs. 122 and 124. See, also, an example formerly in the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, sold at Christie's New York, 21 March 2019, lot 1101, for $200,000.