East 57th Street, the road to enlightenment

His Asian exhibition this year from March 23 to 30 is entitled Road to Enlightenment: Sculpture and Painting from India, the Himalayas and South East Asia, and it comprises 30 outstanding items priced from $32,000 to $450,000, with the exception of the star piece.

That exhibit is the highlight of the whole show, a Chola dynasty bronze figure of Parvati, wife of the Hindu god Shiva, originating in Tamil Nadu, Southern India and dating from the 11th century. The sculpture was previously in the collection of Dr J.R. Belmont, and was later acquired by Christian Humann as part of the Pan-Asian Collection.

Another Indian sculpture with exactly the same provenance is a sandstone image of Sarasvati, the Hindu goddess of wisdom and music, dating from the 6th/7th century. Two 15th century roof brackets illustrate the skill of Nepalese woodcarvers while Tibetan items include a 17th century black-ground thanka, which was included in the exhibition Rituels Tibetains at the Musée Guimet in Paris earlier this year, and an 11th century standing figure of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, luxuriously made with precious metals and gems.

The earliest piece on offer is a finely modelled fragment of a 3rd century Gandharan Buddha, which combines the Hellenistic traditions of portraiture with Indian Buddhist iconographic conventions.

Rochell spent the first 18 years of his career at Sotheby’s, where he founded the Indian and South East Asian art department in 1988, and he later became the head of the Asian departments worldwide.

Contacts made at that time are no mean grounding for a dealing career.

Since he opened his Manhattan gallery, Carlton Rochell has already made sales to the Metropolitan Museum of New York, the Ackland Museum in North Carolina and the Dallas Museum.