A SANDSTONE TORSO OF UMA, ANGKOR WAT PERIOD, BAPHUON STYLE
Khmer Empire, 11th century. Standing in samabhanga, her young unadorned body with prominent breasts and her belly beautifully rounded, wearing a long, pleated sarong tied at the front, the long central fold elegantly culminating in a 'fishtail' shape at the hem, held together at the hips with a patterned belt fastened at the front with a knot.

Provenance: From a private estate in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, by repute acquired from Spink & Son, London.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Expected weathering, wear, losses, minor nicks, few structural cracks. Some signs of erosion. Fine, naturally grown patina overall.

Weight: 15.4 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 58 cm (excl. stand) and 66 cm (incl. stand)

This piece exemplifies the style of Baphuon female figures with the frontal stance, the ovoid skirt wide at the hips and narrowing around the knees, the sarong in an elevated position at the back and curving down to below the navel and the elegant central pleat. According to Boisselier the highly decorative style of Banteay Srei inspired the development of Baphuon period sculpture, a manner which became more embellished with decorative elements as it reached a zenith during the Angkor Wat period a century later, see Helen Ibbitson Jessup and Thierry Zephir, editors, Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia - Millennium of Glory, Washington 1997, page 255.

The modeling of the torso, the curled end of the sarong above the belt, and the long central fold certainly recall Banteay Srei sculpture, see Emma C. Bunker and Douglas Latchford, Adoration and Glory, The Golden Age of Khmer Art, Chicago, 2004, page 175, fig. 8.6.

Mounted to an associated metal stand. (2)

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related torso of Uma, 66 cm high, in these rooms, in Fine Chinese Art, Buddhism and Hinduism on 16 October 2021, lot 560, sold for EUR 13,904.