Orissa
Wood, extensively polychromed
A very unusual pair of Orissan door panels probably from a natamandira (dance hall). Each panel is decorated into three registers with the central registers each depicting an attendant figure carved in high relief. They are both adorned with extensive jewellery; large globular earrings with matching necklaces and various hand, feet, face and hair ornaments. They wear patterned blouses with floral decorations and a large floral garland which is draped around their shoulders. They have stylised forms with a narrow waist and large breasts and they stand in abhanga with one leg planted firmly on the ground, while the other is raised in a half-step. Their full faces have well defined features including cleft chins, large arched eyebrows over bulbous eyes and gentle smiles. One attendant holds her long braided her in her hands, the other holds out a pankha (fan). The attendants stand on double lotus platforms richly decorated with floral and geometric patterns. Beneath them, the lower register depicts Kamadhenu with her calf suckling at her teat and the other, a seated Yali depicted grooming itself. The top register is ornately decorated in high relief, one with a multicoloured peacock with an outspread plumage and the other depicts a Gandaberunda, a mythological two-headed bird.
Individual Sizes (cms): 183(H) x 43(W) x 16(D) each
Individual Sizes (inches): 72(H) x 17(W) x 6.5(D) each
