STÈLE DE VISHNU EN GRÈS BEIGEINDE CENTRALE, XE/XIE SIECLE129.6 cm (51 in.) highProvenance: A BUFF SANDSTONE STELE OF VISHNUCENTRAL INDIA, 10TH/11TH CENTURY印度中部 十/十一世紀 砂岩毗濕奴石碑Provenance:With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970sThe primary form of Vishnu appears in this sculpture in his iconic frontal form (sampada) with his head framed by a lotus nimbus in a presentation testifying to his role as preserver of balance. Shown with four arms, carrying a conch-shell trumpet, achakra, and a clublike mace, his lower right arm extends in the gesture of generosity. He wears the garments of a prince including a tall crown (kiritamukuta), a sacred thread (yajnopavita) running down his chest, jewellery, sashes, anddhoti. Set within a palatial frame (parikara), Vishnu is flanked by columns and capitals surrounded by animated depictions of the deity's avatars.Of these emanations, Vishnu's entourage illustrates his great power in both the celestial and relative realms. Featured in this stele are his various forms including the Matsya the fish, Kurma the tortoise, Varaha the boar, Narasimha the man-lion, Vamana the dwarf, Parashurama the Brahmin, Rama the prince amongst others. Garland bearers, elephants,vyalas, and makaras decorate and enliven these celestial scenes. These acts of multiplicity illustrated in diminutive forms around Vishnu, emphasize his powerful position to descend from the heavenly realms to restore natural order to the world.Another depiction featuring Vishnu within this celestial setting from Uttar Pradesh sold at Christie's, New York, 16 September 2014, lot 237, and suggests the popularity of this iconographic program from the region. A fragmentary figure of Vishnu Allahabad shows a similar crown type (Trivedi,Stone Sculpture in the Allahabad Museum, New Delhi, 1996, cat.8, p. 85) as does a bust from Central India (Pal,The Sensuous Immortals, Los Angeles, 1978, no. 84), illustratingmonalities of style within this region.Elements of the dress and treatment of the nimbuspare to another stele of Surya identified from Uttar Pradesh (Pal,Art From the India Subcontinent, New Haven, 2003, no. 77, p. 118). Further, the architectural arrangement, including the capital types and tiered registers along the sides show similarities to another Central Indian stone depicting a Yakshi sold at Sotheby's, New York, 19 March 2016, lot 1314.