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6. Kinnari Vietnam, Champa 10th century Sandstone height 32 cm |
The kinnari is a mythical creature, half bird, half woman. She plays music to accompany the songs of the Gandharva and the dances of the Apsaras. The present kinnari rises from a base of large lotus petals, stretching out her wings and smiling as she eyes the beholder. Her hands perform the anjalimudra, the gesture of salutation, and she holds a padma. Jewellery is restricted to an elaborate crown and earrings. The quadrangular tenon at the back allowed the sculpture to be inserted into a brick temple frame. The first Champa kings appeared in the Indochina peninsula in the fourth century. By that time the population built houses of fired brick and the predominant religion was Shivaism. Between the eighth and tenth century Champa achieved its maximum geographic extent. The prominent facial features, the almond-shaped eyes and elongated rounded earlobes exemplify the classic Cham aesthetic, more specifically that of the Tra Kieu style of the tenth century, which is regarded the golden age of Cham culture. Provenance: Ancient collection of Joseph Inguimberry, a French painter who taught at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Hanoi until 1954. Brought to France in 1954. Published: Jean-François Hubert, The Art of Champa, China, 2005, p.150, no.148. Art Loss Register Certificate, Reference S00028401. C. Noppe & J.-F. Hubert, Arts du Vietnam. La Fleur du Pêcher et l’Oiseau d’Azur, Tournai, 2002, p.133. |