Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum

A catalogue of the Ashmolean’s collection of Indian art by J. C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield (published Oxford, 1987).

Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum by J. C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield

Publications online: 143 objects

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Figure of Narasimha, the man-lion incarnation of Vishnu

  • Literature notes

    Orissa was one of the regions of northern India that continued longest to produce sculpture in stone and bronze [see EA1980.64] which was both original in conception and of a high degree of technical competence. The adjacent region of Bengal had introduced during the later Pāla period the technique of cutting away all the stone ground around the body and head of an image. Here the process has been carried to the extreme so that what remains of the ground more nearly resembles the halo (praghāmaṇḍala) surrounding a metal image, except for a flat top with the head of a god projecting beyond it. The head is a fine example of inventive caricature, hardly leonine at all, with its hook nose and upturned moustaches. A very similar lion-head can be seen on the superb ivory throne leg from Orissa, now in the Seattle Museum of Art, similarly monstrous but with the same mad geniality, the Indian sculptor invariably treating even his most grotesque creations with sympathy. The man-lion’s mane is shown, in a delightfully fanciful way, cascading down in a series of ringlets on either side of his crown.

    The god sits cross-legged in the yogāsana position (sometimes called utkuṭaka), with a band to hold both knees. His lower hands are stretched forward and rest on his knees; his upper ones hold the discus and the conch as befits an incarnation of Viṣṇu. This “single” (kevala) image of Narasiṃha is comparatively rare. Far more common are those showing the man-lion disemboweling Hiraṇyakaśipu, one of the most terrible of the Daityas.
  • Details

    Associated place
    AsiaIndiaeast India Orissa (place of creation)
    Date
    possibly 14th - 16th century (1301 - 1600)
    possibly 20th century (1901 - 2000)
    Material and technique
    pink material, possibly terracotta, unfired, with remains of painting in black
    Dimensions
    40 x 22 x 13.8 cm (height x width x depth)
    Material index
    Technique index
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Purchased, 1966.
    Accession no.
    EA1966.88
  • Further reading

    Harle, J. C., and Andrew Topsfield, Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1987), no. 51 on p. 43, illus. p. 43

Glossary

Vishnu

  • Vishnu

    Vishnu is, with Shiva, one of the two most important gods in later Hinduism. He is regarded as sustainer of the universe and maintainer of order. Assuming various forms (avatars), he restores the balance of good and evil in the world.

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Publications online

  • Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum by J. C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield

    Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum

    Orissa was one of the regions of northern India that continued longest to produce sculpture in stone and bronze [see EA1980.64] which was both original in conception and of a high degree of technical competence. The adjacent region of Bengal had introduced during the later Pāla period the technique of cutting away all the stone ground around the body and head of an image. Here the process has been carried to the extreme so that what remains of the ground more nearly resembles the halo (praghāmaṇḍala) surrounding a metal image, except for a flat top with the head of a god projecting beyond it. The head is a fine example of inventive caricature, hardly leonine at all, with its hook nose and upturned moustaches. A very similar lion-head can be seen on the superb ivory throne leg from Orissa, now in the Seattle Museum of Art, similarly monstrous but with the same mad geniality, the Indian sculptor invariably treating even his most grotesque creations with sympathy. The man-lion’s mane is shown, in a delightfully fanciful way, cascading down in a series of ringlets on either side of his crown.

    The god sits cross-legged in the yogāsana position (sometimes called utkuṭaka), with a band to hold both knees. His lower hands are stretched forward and rest on his knees; his upper ones hold the discus and the conch as befits an incarnation of Viṣṇu. This “single” (kevala) image of Narasiṃha is comparatively rare. Far more common are those showing the man-lion disemboweling Hiraṇyakaśipu, one of the most terrible of the Daityas.
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