South India, 18th-19th century. Well painted in shades of yellow, green, red, and white, the bridled head finely carved with floral and beaded decorations in relief, the face detailed with large bulging eyes below gently arched brows and flaring nostrils, the mouth slightly open revealing rows of teeth. Provenance: Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, Paris, inventory number 22224, acquired 1976 in New Delhi. The Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes (China and India Company) in Paris was founded in the early 20th century by the Blazy brothers, acquired in 1935 by Robert Rousset and later run by his grandnephews Mike Winter-Rousset and Hervé du Peuty. With his sister Suzanne in charge of the porcelain, Robert Rousset developed the business, and the company became one of the most important dealers for Asian art in France, selling pieces to the greatest museums, including the Guimet and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Condition: Very good condition with wear, particularly to pigments, minor chips and small losses, natural age cracks. Weight: 3,846 g Dimensions: Length 50 cm The back with a metal fitting allowing for wall mounting. Images of horse and bull heads were often used in village festivals during harvest time in rural south India, where these objects were central components of ritual practice. Wooden heads were attached to a body of bamboo, thatch, and textiles and carried in procession through agrarian landscapes. The craftsmen who produced this remarkable work have preserved the knowledge of wood carving for generations upon generations. Their mastery of the medium reveals an exceptional level of skill and expertise indicative of long-term sponsorship by communities of notable status. While large-scale figures of animals in painted wood can still be seen throughout rural South India, the delicacy of carving, detail of paint, and naturalistic beauty of the face suggest elite patronage for this particular image. Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related painted wood head of a bull, also from Kerala and of closely related design, but of much larger size (157 cm high including horns), at Christie’s in The India Sale on 15 December 2015, sold for INR 875,000 (approximately EUR 9,910).
South India, 18th-19th century. Well painted in shades of yellow, green, red, and white, the bridled head finely carved with floral and beaded decorations in relief, the face detailed with large bulging eyes below gently arched brows and flaring nostrils, the mouth slightly open revealing rows of teeth. Provenance: Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, Paris, inventory number 22224, acquired 1976 in New Delhi. The Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes (China and India Company) in Paris was founded in the early 20th century by the Blazy brothers, acquired in 1935 by Robert Rousset and later run by his grandnephews Mike Winter-Rousset and Hervé du Peuty. With his sister Suzanne in charge of the porcelain, Robert Rousset developed the business, and the company became one of the most important dealers for Asian art in France, selling pieces to the greatest museums, including the Guimet and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Condition: Very good condition with wear, particularly to pigments, minor chips and small losses, natural age cracks. Weight: 3,846 g Dimensions: Length 50 cm The back with a metal fitting allowing for wall mounting. Images of horse and bull heads were often used in village festivals during harvest time in rural south India, where these objects were central components of ritual practice. Wooden heads were attached to a body of bamboo, thatch, and textiles and carried in procession through agrarian landscapes. The craftsmen who produced this remarkable work have preserved the knowledge of wood carving for generations upon generations. Their mastery of the medium reveals an exceptional level of skill and expertise indicative of long-term sponsorship by communities of notable status. While large-scale figures of animals in painted wood can still be seen throughout rural South India, the delicacy of carving, detail of paint, and naturalistic beauty of the face suggest elite patronage for this particular image. Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related painted wood head of a bull, also from Kerala and of closely related design, but of much larger size (157 cm high including horns), at Christie’s in The India Sale on 15 December 2015, sold for INR 875,000 (approximately EUR 9,910).
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
