SOUTH INDIA, CHOLA PERIOD, 12TH/13TH CENTURY

Details

A bronze figure of Chandrashekhara Shiva
South India, Chola Period, 12th/13th century
Standing in samapada on a circular lotus base supported by a waisted square plinth with prongs on either side, his principal hands in abhaya and varada mudras, his upper hands holding the axe and antelope, wearing a short dhoti secured by a multi-stranded belt with festoons and sashes trailing down his sides, his face with a benign expression with almond-shaped eyes, straight aquiline nose, the hair piled into a high headdress with tresses flowing down over the shoulders and backed by a halo
12 3/8 in. (31.5 cm.) high

Provenance

Acquired in 1981

Lot Essay

Standing straight as a post, this is an image of Shiva "having the moon as his head ornament", referring to cyclical time; for a further discussion and a larger example at the Detroit Institute of Arts, see S. Kramrisch, Manifestations of Shiva, 1981, p. 108, cat. no. 88.

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