Tamil Nadu (South India)
Wood
A finely carved, double-sided panel depicting a turbaned rider seated on a caparisoned, rearing horse. He sports a wide, bushy mustache and wears an angharkha and a Maratha-style turban, with his right hand resting on the hilt of his dagger. A finely carved, rearing Yali with sharply chiseled eyes, teeth, and a lion-like mane supports the horse’s forelegs. Originally part of a doorway bracket.
The horse played a pivotal role in establishing the supremacy of kings, as demonstrated, for instance by the great horse sacrifice, the Ashvamedha, which might have been establisssssssssshed in the course of the Vedic period. Equestrian motifs appear prominently in Indian art, for example in Orissan sculpture of the 12th and 13th centuries, and in that of the late Vijaynagara and Nayak periods (early 16th to early 18th century) in southern India. There is a branch of literature specialising in the training of horses, which contains detailed passages on colouring, proportions, gait, auspicious and inauspicious marks and lists of appropriate names for horses.Â
Size (cms): 96(H) x 34(W) x 11(D)
Size (inches): 38(H) x 13.5(W) x 4.5(D)
