Huge 14th C. Javanese Volcanic Stone Ganesh w/ Kala

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Exceptional Finds | Ancient, Asian, Ethno, Fi...

By Artemis Fine Arts

Mar 20, 2025

Set Reminder 2025-03-20 10:00:00 2025-03-20 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Finds | Ancient, Asian, Ethno, Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-finds-ancient-asian-ethno-fine-art-18151
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• Lot Description
  Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Java, ca. 14th to 15th century CE. A magnificent, massive, and quite rare volcanic stone sculpture of the elephant-headed god Ganesh with the growling face of the monster Kala, the personification of time, a god of death, and the devourer of all creation, on the verso. Seated on a double lotus throne with one leg propped up and the other folded to his side, Ganesh presents with 4 arms, one of which holds a bowl of sweets that his trunk eats from, another grasps one of his tusks to use as a writing implement to transcribe the Mahabharata, and the remaining 2 wield a battle axe and an elephant goad. He wears a necklace of bells and a sacred cord in the form of a snake that wraps around his belly and over his shoulder. The bulging eyes and curved fangs of Kala on the verso are intended to protect Ganesh. Examples like this, with Ganesh on one side and Kala on the other, are very rare, though one famously can be found in the village of Tuliskriyo, a suburb of Blitar in Java. Size: 20" L x 19.4" W x 33.8" H (50.8 cm x 49.3 cm x 85.9 cm)
  
  Esteemed as one of the principal deities of the Hindu pantheon, the first son of Shiva and Parvati, Ganesha is known as the Lord of Plenty or the god of auspiciousness, highly revered as the regulator of all obstacles with the power to create and remove them. Followers traditionally ask for his blessings at the beginning of any new paths or serious endeavors. The origin of his unusual physiognomy, particularly how he came to possess such an unusual head is the source of many legends, the most popular is that one day when Shiva was away from home, Parvati created a human son from her own body. She asked her son to guard the door while she was bathing. Quite unexpectedly, Shiva returned home, and the boy would not allow Shiva to enter his own household. Enraged by this, Shiva cut off the boy's head. Parvati grew quite angry and ordered Shiva to replace his head. Shiva did so with the first living being he encountered: an elephant. Known as the Remover of Obstacles, Ganesha's elephant-headed image can be found at the entrance of temples and in shrines in both domestic and commercial settings to clear the path for successful worship and other endeavors.
  
  Kala is a Sanskrit term that means 'time' or 'death.' As time personified, destroying all things, Kala is a god of death, and often used as one of the epithets of Yama. In Javanese mythology, Batara Kala is the god of destruction. It is a very huge mighty and powerful god depicted as giant, born of the sperm of Shiva, the kings of gods. In Borobudur, the gate to the stairs is adorned with a giant head, making the gate look like the open mouth of the giant. Many other gates in Javanese traditional buildings have this kind of ornament. Perhaps the most detailed Kala Face in Java is on the south side of Candi Kalasan. The fiercest looking Kala masks are from eastern Java, made between the 10th to 15th century.
  
  Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA
  
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  #192689

  Condition

  Some nicks, chips, and abrasions as shown, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and excellent with impressive detail. Light earthen deposits in areas.
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