SOUTH INDIA, PALLAVA PERIOD, CIRCA 9TH CENTURY

In the dakshinamurti pose, which literally means "south-facing image," Shiva displays the aspects of wise and sagely teacher. While in many extant examples, the god sits with his leg crossed over the other, this example would have had one foot drawn up on to the base. According to Pal, this is an early means of representation found primarily in the 9th and 10th centuries. For another early example of Shiva Dakshinamurti in this posture at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, see P. Pal, Indian Sculpture, vol. 2, 1988, p. 264f, cat. no. 139b.