Ancient India – Bengal

Beautiful in terracotta from ancient Bengal, representing a large richly adorned female figure, accompanied by a smaller assistant. The composition belongs to the characteristic repertoire of Chandraketugarh's terracotta works, one of the great artistic centers of ancient Bengal. The main figure, depicted frontally, wears a monumental coiffure, numerous jewels, a broad belt with several ranks and a finely rhythmically patterned garment. Its ornamental richness and dominant position allow, with prudence, to identify it as a Yakṣī or a semi-divine female figure. To her right stands a second woman, deliberately rendered on a smaller scale according to a hierarchical principle well documented in Chandraketugarh plaques. This reading rules out the old interpretation as a “mother and child”: the small figure has adult morphology, with clearly indicated chest, waist, belt and garment. The plaque was made in a one-faced mold, a typical technique of this production: the entire scene is concentrated on the front face, while the reverse is flat and simply smoothed. This method of manufacture allowed the diffusion of highly elaborate compositions, while preserving great precision in the hairstyle, jewelry and costume details. The best parallels lie in the series of Yakṣī and female figures with assistants from Chandraketugarh, dated to the Śuṅga period. All stylistic and technical criteria lead to proposing a dating to the 2nd–1st century BCE, probably around 150–50 BCE. The piece retains good legibility despite its age: natural wear of reliefs, small marginal losses and ancient deposits in recessed areas. It is displayed on a modern metal base. Provenance: former Belgian private collection, assembled between 1979 and 2009, then transmitted by succession in 2023. Dimensions without the base: 13 × 8 × 1.7 cm. Weight without the base: 217.6 g. Total height with base: 17 cm. No thermoluminescence test has been performed. The attribution rests on material, technical, stylistic and comparative examination of the work. video link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/dntlcw8ptc5hyhqnbpfsy/AF_bQGEGua0rnivsl1HuaLU?rlkey=csc5rk8bfj5quaog00bhpfpq8&dl=0

Estimate:£1,692.73

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