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Lot Essay
The present bronze is a rare and very finely executed Sri Lankan representation of that most dynamic South Indian form of Shiva, the Nataraja. When the universe has become irreparably corrupt, Shiva adopts his form as the 'Lord of Dance' to cast it in flames and prepare the way for Brahma to create a new one. A popular and iconic image throughout the medieval Chola heartland of Tamil Nadu, representations in other parts of South Asia are considerably rarer.
By the late 10th century, the Anuradhapura Kingdom of Sri Lanka was in the midst of upheaval. Sensing a vacuum in power, the Chola king Rajaraja I crossed the Palk Straight with a large invasion force, sacked the ancient city of Anuradhapura, and established his capital at Polonnaruva. The Buddhist community, previously patronized by the Sinhalese kings in the Anuradhapura Kingdom, fell into disrepair in the Chola period. Instead, the Tamil kings supported devotion to the Hindu deities, in particular Shiva. To satiate the demand for religious images, there was an influx of Tamil artisans in to northern Sri Lanka during this period. Even after the defeat and subsequent withdrawal of the Chola rulers, a sizeable population of Shiva-worshipping Tamils still remained in the north of the country.
There is considerable debate amongst scholars whether the extant Sri Lankan Hindu sculptures were the product of Tamil artisans or of Sinhalese craftsmen trained in the Chola iconography and style. The presence of works of excellent quality alongside more mediocre examples has some scholars contend that the masterpieces must have been made by Tamil artisans in Sri Lanka or imported, while the lesser examples were perhaps the product of Sinhalese artisans copying their Tamil counterparts. This argument infers that all Chola Nataraja bronzes were of exceptional quality, when in reality there was a wide variety of quality in Tamil Nadu as well.
The only certainty is that the Shaivite community in Sri Lanka was sufficiently developed as to have commissioned or imported a body of Hindu bronzes. The present work closely follows the late Chola style of the 12th century, yet there are unusual stylistic elements. The treatment of the upper portion of the double-lotus base, with repeated lozenge-shaped stamens, for example, is not found in South Indian bronzes. Similarly, while some South Indian Nataraja bronzes of the 12th century depict the flaming aureole as issuing from the mouths of two makaras, the present work depicts these creatures especially fancifully and with finely outlined details. The linear decorative treatment extends to the incised patterning on the rectangular plinth, that is usually not found in the corpus of Chola bronzes, and is particularly fine in the present example.
By the late 10th century, the Anuradhapura Kingdom of Sri Lanka was in the midst of upheaval. Sensing a vacuum in power, the Chola king Rajaraja I crossed the Palk Straight with a large invasion force, sacked the ancient city of Anuradhapura, and established his capital at Polonnaruva. The Buddhist community, previously patronized by the Sinhalese kings in the Anuradhapura Kingdom, fell into disrepair in the Chola period. Instead, the Tamil kings supported devotion to the Hindu deities, in particular Shiva. To satiate the demand for religious images, there was an influx of Tamil artisans in to northern Sri Lanka during this period. Even after the defeat and subsequent withdrawal of the Chola rulers, a sizeable population of Shiva-worshipping Tamils still remained in the north of the country.
There is considerable debate amongst scholars whether the extant Sri Lankan Hindu sculptures were the product of Tamil artisans or of Sinhalese craftsmen trained in the Chola iconography and style. The presence of works of excellent quality alongside more mediocre examples has some scholars contend that the masterpieces must have been made by Tamil artisans in Sri Lanka or imported, while the lesser examples were perhaps the product of Sinhalese artisans copying their Tamil counterparts. This argument infers that all Chola Nataraja bronzes were of exceptional quality, when in reality there was a wide variety of quality in Tamil Nadu as well.
The only certainty is that the Shaivite community in Sri Lanka was sufficiently developed as to have commissioned or imported a body of Hindu bronzes. The present work closely follows the late Chola style of the 12th century, yet there are unusual stylistic elements. The treatment of the upper portion of the double-lotus base, with repeated lozenge-shaped stamens, for example, is not found in South Indian bronzes. Similarly, while some South Indian Nataraja bronzes of the 12th century depict the flaming aureole as issuing from the mouths of two makaras, the present work depicts these creatures especially fancifully and with finely outlined details. The linear decorative treatment extends to the incised patterning on the rectangular plinth, that is usually not found in the corpus of Chola bronzes, and is particularly fine in the present example.