63. 63W STATUE D'ARDHANARISHVARA EN GRÈS ROUGE MADHYA PRADESH, XE/XIE SIÈCLE 65 cm (25 5/8 in.) high A RED SANDSTONE FIGURE OF ARDHANARISHVARA MADHYA PRADESH, 10TH/11TH CENTURY 中央邦 十／十一世紀 紅砂岩半女大自在天像 Provenance: With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s The sinuous figure represents Shiva's androgynous form, Ardhanarishvara, 'the Lord who is Half-Woman. The left side shows Parvarti holding a darpana (mirror) and Shiva on the left who holds the trishula (trident). Shiva's lower left hand is in varada mudra (gesture of charity), while Parvati's left hand holds a kamandalu (water-pot). Their mounts, the bull and lion, are stationed at their feet along with male and female attendants. The upper section of the back panel is populated by vyalas and garland bearingapsaras. The flexed pose of the youthful torso compares favorably with a 5th century sandstone representation of Arhanashvara in the Mistry Collection (Chandra, Sculpture of India, 1985, p. 95, no. 35) in contrast to a contemporaneous more hieratic representation in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (B73S16). Also compare with a stele of the marriage of Shiva and Parvati sold at Sotheby's, New York, 17 March 2015, lot 1089.