SOUTH INDIA, NAGAPATTINAM, CHOLA PERIOD, 13TH CENTURY

While the artistic achievement of the Chola period is best known for its sensuous Hindu figures, a thriving Buddhist community co-existed in Tamil Nadu and artisans produced figures of Buddhas and Jaina deities in addition to Hindu gods. The most important Buddhist center in Tamil Nadu was Nagapattinam, where production of Buddhist art flourished during the 13th century, sustained not only by the local community but also by transient communities of merchants and pilgrims from Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, and China. Portable bronze figures of Buddha, such as the particularly fine example seen here, were carried throughout these networks, perpetuating the artistic and religious connections that united the South and East Asian world. For further discussion see V. Dehejia, The Sensuous and the Sacred, 2002, p.207-210.