Lot 228

Hindu Shaivite Polished Stone Shiva Linga, Svayambhu Type

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Lot 228
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Hindu Shaivite Polished Stone Shiva Linga, Svayambhu Type
Hindu Shaivite Polished Stone Shiva Linga, Svayambhu Type
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Hindu Shaivite Polished Stone Shiva Linga, Svayambhu Type

Estimate: $600 - $900

Starting Bid: $300

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
August 7, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Ca. 1850 - 2000 CE. South Asia, India, Hindu, Shaivite Tradition, Narmada River region. A Shiva linga of polished dark gray stone, this sacred object embodies one of the most enduring and cosmologically charged forms in the Hindu devotional tradition, its smooth ovoid form representing the generative and transcendent power of Shiva as the axis of creation. The linga is formed from a dense, fine-grained stone polished to a deep mirror-like luster, the surface shifting between dark charcoal gray and near-black across its gently tapering ovoid body. A vivid natural inclusion of deep red-orange mineral matter, likely iron oxide, interrupts the dark ground at the widest point of the form, its irregular, flame-like shape reading as a spontaneous mark of the sacred. Such naturally marked lingas, known as svayambhu or self-arising, are among the most revered in Shaivite worship, their natural inclusions understood not as imperfections but as evidence of Shiva's immanent presence within the material world.

The linga, from the Sanskrit meaning "mark" or "sign," is the primary aniconic symbol of Shiva, the destroyer and regenerator within the Hindu trimurti, and its worship is among the oldest continuously practiced religious traditions on earth, with evidence stretching back to the Indus Valley civilization of the third millennium BCE. Lingas occur in two principal categories: those shaped by human hands and installed in temples and domestic shrines, and the svayambhu variety formed by nature itself, discovered in rivers, mountains, and sacred sites and venerated precisely because no human agency intervened in their creation. The most celebrated natural lingas are found in the bed of the Narmada River in central India, where the river's geological action produces smooth, naturally ovoid stones of exceptional quality, long collected by pilgrims, priests, and devotees as embodiments of Shiva's spontaneous self-manifestation. Installed on a yoni base in temple sanctuaries or held privately as objects of daily puja, lingas are anointed with water, milk, honey, and flower offerings in rituals performed across the Hindu world from dawn to dusk. A large, beautifully polished example bearing a compelling natural marking of this quality is an exceptional devotional and collectible object, carrying within its silence the weight of one of humanity's oldest living spiritual traditions.

Provenance: Private Parker, Colorado, USA collection

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Item # 202550

  • Condition: Excellent condition. A few minor scuffs, but, otherwise, intact and excellent with a beautiful presentation and a silky smooth surface.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000