Black Granite Maharaja Torso // India Ca. 18th Century CE

Black Granite Maharaja Torso with a big pearl necklace on his powerful chest showing pranayama respirations and a crown on the forehead. He has a long mustache and royal attributes. Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or "high king". This item comes mounted on a black granite custom made base.

Few monarchies can match the opulence of India's royal courts in their heyday. After Mughal power collapsed in 1739, a new breed of maharajas sprang up all over India to replace them. Many controlled vast tracts of land from their splendid palaces - and some of the world's finest jewellery. Their golden period was from the beginning of the 18th Century to the mid-20th Century.

The tradition of Indian sculpture is the oldest in the world, dating back to the Indus Valley civilization in which people made statues and figures of bronze and stone. Ever since then, Indian sculpture has refined and expanded in scope and established itself as one of the finest in the world.