Details
CollectionSouth & Southeast Asian Collection
Object numberS1964-0035-001-0
TitleChamardharini (Lady bearing a fly whisk)
DescriptionFormer Chancellor of the University of Malaya, Sir Malcolm Macdonald was a British politician and diplomat who held a number of Imperial posts. Pertinent to the context of the current display, Sir Malcolm was a keen patron of the University of Malaya Museum when Michael Sullivan established it in 1955, donating a significant number of South and Southeast Asian artworks to the University to form part of its early teaching collection. In an illustrious career, Sir Malcolm was Commissioner General for "Southeast Asia during the communist insurrection in Malaya, Commissioner General for Southeast Asia for seven years and subsequently United Kingdom's High Commissioner in India from 1955 to 1960. (Source: Camping and Tramping, An Anecdotal Guide to Objects, Accumulations – Object, Order, Wonder, Part (c), No 121).This sculpture, together with the standing Indra in our collection (S1959-0014-001-0) “bear stylistic affinity to the nearly ruined site of Abaneri in Rajasthan from where very elongated, slender images have been found. The tribhanga in their torsos is almost identical and they bear a certain relaxed repose, which tends to suggest a common pedigree, originating from the same guild of craftsmen. Sculptures of this style can be seen at the Harshamata temple complex in Abaneri, Rajasthan as well as the Amber Archaeological Museum; they are dateable to the first half of the 9th century.
According to Darielle Mason, these sculptures epitomize the Cahamana-Pratihara carving from Sapadalaksha, an area of northeastern Rajasthan located between Jaipur and Mathura.” (Past, Present , Beyond: Re-nascence of an Art Collection, Page 29)
Production placeIndia, Abaneri, Rajasthan
Production period9th C, Mid
Object categorySculpture
Dimensions
H: 57 cm
L: 19.4 cm
W: 6.4 cm
L: 19.4 cm
W: 6.4 cm
Credit lineDonated by Sir Malcolm MacDonald

