A Chola bronze figure of Shiva as Chandrashekhara South India, 12th/ 13th CenturyA Chola bronze figure of Shiva as Chandrashekhara South India, 12th/ 13th Centurystanding in sampada on a circular base, his principal right hand in abhayamudra and left hand resting below his waist, his upper hands holding the axe and antelope, wearing a short dhoti secured by a multi-stranded belt with festoons and sashes, adorned with elaborate jewellery, his face with serene expression and almond-shaped eyes, straight aquiline nose, the hair piled into a high headdress, backed by a halo, mounted on a stand 18.3 cm. high excluding standProvenance George Sheridan Collection, formed between the 1950s and 80s.Private US collection. George Sheridan (1923-2008) was one of the founding members of the artistic community of Deià in the Balearic island of Mallorca, among such illustrious residents as the poet Robert Graves. His painting style reflects the colour and rugged beauty of his adopted home in Spain, having spent many years working as an artist in London and Paris after leaving his native America. His influences included the art of India and the Himalayas, which he collected avidly and whose themes he incorporated into his work. He frequented Spink and Son whenever he was in London, becoming close friends with the legendary head of the Indian and Southeast Asian department, Anthony Gardiner, from whom he bought regularly. When in Paris he would buy from the leading dealers of the day, Jean-Claude Moreau-Gobard and Josette Schulmann. His eye for Asian art extended from the Buddhist sculpture of Gandhara, Nepal and Tibet, through classical Indian sculpture to the magical world of Indian miniatures.Having come to power in the mid-ninth century in the Tanjore District, Tamil Nadu, the Cholas built an empire that dominated the region and became the locus for great strides in bronze casting, resulting in elegant figures that balanced idealised forms with naturalistic modelling (see P. Pratapaditya, Indian Sculpture, Volume 2, Los Angeles, 1998, p. 230). The present lot demonstrates these elegant forms, depicting Shiva as Chandrashekhara, 'Lord of the crescent moon', a connection forged by their shared symbolism of fertility and healing. A sculpture of Shiva Chandrashekhara dated to the 10th Century is in the Brooklyn Museum, New York, acc. no. 2007.2. Another example also featuring Parvati and dated to the 13th Century can be seen in P. Pratapaditya, Indian Sculpture, Volume 2, Los Angeles, 1998, pp. 284-5, cat. 152.