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19th Century Indian Female Dancer Sculpture
Catalogue:
Antiques:
Regional Art:
Asian:
Indian Subcontinent:
India:
Pre 1900 item# 949110 (stock# 004i)
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click for details
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Korean Art and Antiques
917-675-1369
$375
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A rare gessoed and polychromed late 19th Century figure of a Female Dancer, sensitively rendered in form, so very different from any contemporary Indian folk carvings in style and execution. A photo of a 19th Century bronze example from Orissa can be provided for comparison. The condition of the bare wood, especially where the left arm has broken, may indicate even greater age than the late 19th Century. The use of iron nails in the attachment of the arms would clearly place it within the time frame of the British rule of India. Sculpture should be considered as delicate in condition. These sculptures are rarely seen on the market. The size would probably indicate some public festival functionality, rather than use in a private home. It comes from Orissa, and is in many respects reminiscent of early dynastic wood carvings from Egypt, both in its monumental stance and in the serene composition of its face. Nice details include the curled hair at the side of the face and hair down the back. The sculpture has suffered some losses, notably to the left arm, and areas of gesso having flaked off. One native repair was done at some time in the past, where the rear of the base was repainted. That paint job was not gessoed, but clearly has some considerable age, as it is itself flaking off, not being as stable as the gessoed surfaces. Height is 15.5 inches (39.5cm). cf. page 47 of the 1981 catalog, India: Village Tribal, Ritual Arts by the Mingei International Museum of World Folk Art in San Diego for a related 19th Century example from Rajasthan.
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