A SANDSTONE STATUE OF THE SUN GOD SURYA, NORTHERN INDIA, 11TH-12TH CENTURY Finely carved depiction of Surya with his wife Ushas (the dawn) standing immediately before him as the herald of each new day. Identified by his tall cylindrical crown, while wielding a beaming lotus in each hand, the figure is devoted to the sun god Surya, whose cult at one time rivaled that of Shiva and Vishnu, and who became prominently incorporated into the iconographic program of the latter's temples. Provenance: From an English private collection. Condition: Extensive wear and weathering, losses as visible on the images online at www.zacke.at. Overall fine condition, as expected from a statue of this age. One old repair to right lotus. Weight: 14.3 kg Dimensions: Height 50.5 (without base) and 61 cm (including base) Surya is dressed according to traditional conventions that depict him as a king. His 'northern' garb is thought to resemble that of Indo-Scythian tribesmen, like the Kushans, who ruled Northern India in the first centuries of the common era. It is also thought to reflect the influence of Iranian religious ideas on Indian sun worship. (Rosenfield, The Arts of India and Nepal, Boston, 1966, p.43.) As Dye once noted, Surya's bold lotus blossoms "suggest both the sun itself and the boundless life it nurtures." (Dye III, The Arts of India, Richmond, 2001, p.136.). The softly modeled facial features with lightly arching brows and narrow prominent lips, harkening back to Gupta prototypes, point to the regional style of Uttar Pradesh in Northern India. So too does the buff-to-reddish colored sandstone, the less extravagant array of necklaces and regalia (in comparison with neighboring Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh). Compare these various idioms with examples attributed to Uttar Pradesh in Desai & Mason (eds.), Gods, Guardians, and Lovers, New York, 1993, pp.187-8, 244-7 & 262- 3, nos.28, 62, & 70. With an associated modern base. (2)