10th-12th century AD. A relief panel carving of a Tantric goddess seated on a throne with a seven headed cobra rearing over her head; the goddess is dressed in a breast band and loin cloth with strings of necklaces and armlets and bracelets, with a tiara crown on her head; she has six arms, those to the left holding a bow, a lotus flower and the lower one a conch shell; those on the right a lotus flower, remains of a trident in one hand, and the lower in Abhya mudra meaning fear not, and with a rosary hanging down; beneath her feet is the head of a buffalo; to the side of her feet is the figure of a bird, possibly a goose. Desai, V and Mason, D. Gods, Guardians and Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India, 700 - 1200 AD, New York, 1993 84 kg, 76cm (30"). Acquired on the London art market prior to 1980. The figure is a Tantric representation of the goddess Durga merging the iconography of two other goddess, Saraswati, and Lakshmi. This merging of the three goddesses into one form indicates that the goddess is Maha Devi, the Great Goddess. In the Shakta cult of Hinduism, which places the female aspect of god as the most important, the three forms of the goddess correspond to her role as the supreme deity who is responsible for the creation of the cosmos in her form of Saraswati, the preserver in the form of Lakshmi, and the destroyer of the universe in her form of Durga or Kali. The iconography on this statue shows the symbols associated with each goddess: the rosary and goose are associated with Saraswati, the lotus flower and conch shell with Lakshmi, and the trident and bow with Durga. The bull's head relates to the story of Durga as the destroyer of the demon Mahishasura, who took the form of a buffalo to conquer the gods. The panel is typical of north Indian temple sculpture which reached its peak from the 8th to the 13th centuries with the building of magnificent temples and a outpouring of literary, cultural and artistic achievement.

Very fine condition.