Northern India – ancient Bengal

Set of three votive circular terracotta medallions, molded, North India, ancient Bengal, Chandraketugarh type, Shunga / Early Historic period, 2nd–1st century BCE. Beautiful set of three ancient terracotta medallions, gathered on a modern metal base specially designed for their display. Each piece features a characteristic construction: a wide rounded circular rim, a slightly recessed central field and a protruding central knob, around which a radially arranged molded decoration is organized. The three pieces clearly belong to the same production tradition, while showing slight differences in diameter, thickness, relief and design. They are therefore not simple repetitions of the same mold, but variants belonging to the same typological family. The decoration combines several zoomorphic, vegetal and probably anthropomorphic motifs, distributed in sectors around the center. Notably different animal silhouettes as well as vegetal elements are discernible. The radiating construction around the central knob gives each composition a strong graphic quality, evoking a symbolic wheel without it being necessary to interpret this organization as an absolute iconographic identification. Due to their small size, molded technique, morphology and decorative vocabulary, these medallions belong to the corpus of ancient Bengal and Chandraketugarh terracotta works, traditionally placed in the Early Historic / Shunga period, around the 2nd–1st centuries BCE. The surfaces display beautiful tones ranging from pink-beige to gray-brown, with several darker areas on the rims and reverse sides. These variations give each of the three pieces a slightly different appearance while maintaining a strong overall unity. The reliefs remain legible despite old and progressive wear of the salient parts. Small abrasions and peripheral nicks, a few micro-scratches and various old linear traces on the reverse are noted. One medallion shows a radial crack localized at the lower rim, without visible delamination. No major structural damage observed. The reverses, plainer, show manual finishing and color variations ranging from beige to dark gray-brown. The perforations seen correspond to mounting on the modern base. Dimensions without base: Medallion 1: Ø 4.5 cm × thickness 1.5 cm Medallion 2: Ø 4.9 cm × thickness 1.8 cm Medallion 3: Ø 4.6 cm × thickness 1.4 cm Individual weights: 30.3 g; 35 g; 27.3 g. Total weight without base: 92.6 g. Dimensions with base: H. 14 cm × L. 10.5 cm × P. 6 cm. Total weight with base: 350.1 g. Provenance: private Belgian collection, formed between 1979 and 2009. A particularly harmonious trio of ancient Bengal terracotta pieces, whose common mounting immediately allows appreciating the variations in relief, patina and size of each medallion. video link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/y4ocd89ksfvkusbb08b84/AGAqZlA5DNyCG5n-Ej8Kj98?rlkey=sop1w3oj0bjqvtubhauohu3d9&dl=0

Estimation:€375

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