SANCTUAIRE DE SURYA EN LAITON HIMACHAL PRADESH, XIIE SIÈCLESANCTUAIRE DE SURYA EN LAITONHIMACHAL PRADESH, XIIE SIÈCLEHimalayan Art Resources item no. 4838 26.3 cm (10 3/8 in.) high A BRASS SHRINE OF SURYAHIMACHAL PRADESH, 12TH CENTURY喜馬偕爾邦 十二世紀 太陽神銅像 Published:Arman Neven, Sculpture des Indes, Brussels, 1978, p. 224, no. 166.Exhibited: Sculpture des Indes, Société Générale de Banque, Brussels, 8 December 1978 - 31 January 1979.Provenance:With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970sThis simple yet striking shrine features Surya flanked by his clerk and measurer, Pingala and Danda. The chief attributes of Surya are presented as massive, batten-like scepters. His face, crown, and the jewelry across his torso are worn almost completely smooth, and only the form of the sword across his thighs is discernible.In a comprehensive survey of sculpture from Himachal Pradesh, closely related examples are attributed to the 11th century, based on the structure of the throne (Postel et., al, Antiquities of Himachal, 1985, figs. 179 & 182). Also compare the stepped base and lotiform motif with another bronze group of Lakshminarayana from the collection of Dr. Leo S. Figiel at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art (S1992.2).