A CARVED RED SANDSTONE FIGURE OF FEMALE WARRIORS
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE LONDON COLLECTION
Madhya Pradesh, Chandela period, 12th - 13th century

Carved on three sides, capturing two female warriors intertwined in an animated, dynamic battle, each woman wearing a diaphanous choli top and thin dhoti over their legs, with beaded belts and accessories around their waists, their earlobes carrying large and heavy circular earrings, their hair combed backward and tied in a rounded knot with a flower in the centre, the torso of each fighter twisted and their arms bent behind their shoulders, holding tight a sword and club respectively, in a stance suggesting they are about to deliver a lethal blow, the reverse flat, mounted on a black metal stand, 48.5cm x 61cm x 20.4cm including the stand.

Provenance: part of a private London collection since the early 1980s.

The animated stance and fine modelling of these female warriors' bodies show a degree of great affinity with another Chandela red sandstone figure dated to the 12th - 13th century, part of a private London collection in 1998, subsequently in the hands of a Manhattan collector, and then sold at Christie's New York, 21 September 2007, lot 74 for $15,000 USD hammer.