SOUTH INDIA, TAMIL NADU, VIJAYANAGARA OR NAYAKA PERIOD, 16TH-17TH CENTURY

Seated in a regal posture, with poised dignity, the present bronze depicts Shiva in a frontal pose, his lower proper right hand in abhayamudra (conferring protection or reassurance) and the lower proper left in ahuyavaradamudra (inviting the conference of boons); in the other two he holds his weapon, the battle-axe, and his favorite companion, the antelope, the head of which is turned in to face his lord. He is dressed in a short and unadorned dhoti and is adorned with a sacred thread that is knotted at the center of the chest above a band strapped around the ribs, necklaces centered with a foliate medallion, and beaded armlets and anklets. His long dreadlocks of hair, jata, are braided into a high chignon atop his head.