COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
mediaCollectionId
AMICO~1~1
The AMICA Library
Collection
true
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1930.331
amicoid
CMA_.1930.331
AMICA ID
false
AMICA Library Year:
1998
aly
1998
AMICA Library Year
false
Object Type:
Sculpture
oty
Sculpture
Object Type
false
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Indian Sub-Continent; Indian
crc
Asian; Indian Sub-Continent; Indian
Creator Nationality
false
Creator Dates/Places:
South India
cdt
South India
Creator Dates/Places
false
Creator Name-CRT:
South India, Chola Period, 11th century
crt
South India, Chola Period, 11th century
Creator Name-CRT
false
Title:
Shiva Nataraja: Lord of the Dance
otn
Shiva Nataraja: Lord of the Dance
Title
false
Title Type:
Primary
ott
Primary
Title Type
false
View:
Full View
rid
Full View
View
false
Creation Date:
11th century
oct
11th century
Creation Date
false
Creation Start Date:
1000
ocs
1000
Creation Start Date
false
Creation End Date:
1099
oce
1099
Creation End Date
false
Materials and Techniques:
copper
omd
copper
Materials and Techniques
false
Dimensions:
Overall: 111.5cm x 101.65cm
met
Overall: 111.5cm x 101.65cm
Dimensions
false
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
oon
The Cleveland Museum of Art
AMICA Contributor
false
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
oop
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Owner Location
false
ID Number:
1930.331
ooa
1930.331
ID Number
false
Credit Line:
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
ooc
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Credit Line
false
Rights:
orl
<a href="http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html"target="_new">http://www.clemusart.com/museum/disclaim2.html</a>
Rights
false
Context:
Shiva (the destroyer) shares the divine trinity of Hinduism with Brahma (the creator) and Vishnu (the preserver). At the end of each kalpa (cycle) the world goes through, according to Hindu eschatology, it is destroyed and procreated (as is the case with individual beings who are reborn). In the iconography of Nataraja, he is a supreme deity who at once destroys and procreates the universe. His dance signifies the passage of Time (kala) and embodies Shiva's five-fold activities involved in the process of creation. The drum (damaru), held in his upper right hand, the source of sound vibrating within space, is symbolic of creation. The "fear-not" gesture (abhaya hasta), expressed by his other right hand, offers protection to his subjects. The flame (agni)held in the palm of his upper left hand, identical to the flames encircling the mandorla within which he dances, symbolizes the world's destruction--but with the promise of procreation. The second left arm, crossing the body and pointing down to his aloftleft foot (gaja hasta), refers to the illusionistic character of this world, while the foot symbolizes the final release, promising salvation of the soul. The dwarf upon whom he tramples in his dance signifies the destruction of evil. Bronzes produced inSouth India during the Chola period are among some of the most accomplished metal sculptures ever made in India, as well as worldwide. The extant images of Shiva are particularly notable for their large size, tensile strength, and vigorous sense of movement. This Nataraja represents an earlier Chola style, possibly made during the reign of the Rajaraja the Great, who was the builder of the famous Brihadeshvara Temple in Tanjor around AD 1000, the period that produced some of the greatest Chola bronzes. S.C.
cxd
Shiva (the destroyer) shares the divine trinity of Hinduism with Brahma (the creator) and Vishnu (the preserver). At the end of each kalpa (cycle) the world goes through, according to Hindu eschatology, it is destroyed and procreated (as is the case with individual beings who are reborn). In the iconography of Nataraja, he is a supreme deity who at once destroys and procreates the universe. His dance signifies the passage of Time (kala) and embodies Shiva's five-fold activities involved in the process of creation. The drum (damaru), held in his upper right hand, the source of sound vibrating within space, is symbolic of creation. The "fear-not" gesture (abhaya hasta), expressed by his other right hand, offers protection to his subjects. The flame (agni)held in the palm of his upper left hand, identical to the flames encircling the mandorla within which he dances, symbolizes the world's destruction--but with the promise of procreation. The second left arm, crossing the body and pointing down to his aloftleft foot (gaja hasta), refers to the illusionistic character of this world, while the foot symbolizes the final release, promising salvation of the soul. The dwarf upon whom he tramples in his dance signifies the destruction of evil. Bronzes produced inSouth India during the Chola period are among some of the most accomplished metal sculptures ever made in India, as well as worldwide. The extant images of Shiva are particularly notable for their large size, tensile strength, and vigorous sense of movement. This Nataraja represents an earlier Chola style, possibly made during the reign of the Rajaraja the Great, who was the builder of the famous Brihadeshvara Temple in Tanjor around AD 1000, the period that produced some of the greatest Chola bronzes. S.C.
Context
false
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1930.331.tif
ril
CMA_.1930.331.tif
Related Image Identifier Link
false