Detail View: The AMICA Library: Rampant Mythical Lions (Vyala)
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AMICA ID:
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AIC_.1997.714
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AMICA Library Year:
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1999
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Object Type:
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Sculpture
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Creator Nationality:
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Asian; Indian Sub-Continent; Indian
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Creator Dates/Places:
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Asia,South Asia,India,Uttar Pradesh (state)
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Creator Name-CRT:
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Asia,South Asia,India,Uttar Pradesh (state)
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Title:
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Rampant Mythical Lions (Vyala)
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Title Type:
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preferred
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View:
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front view
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Creation Date:
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8th - 9th cen.
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Creation Start Date:
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701
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Creation End Date:
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900
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Materials and Techniques:
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Sandstone; architectural fragment
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Classification Term:
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Sandstone
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Subject Description:
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A vyala is a lion made fantastic by the addition of horns and an elaborate foliate tail. Between about the seventh and the tenth century the lion was a common motif in western and central Indian temple architecture. Usually shown in a lively, rearing, contorted posture, as if dancing, vyala were placed in recesses on the exterior walls of temples, alternating and seemingly interacting with the languid celestial nymphs on the projecting transepts, as if to embody the contrast between beauty and the beast,between repose and action.
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Dimensions:
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L: 73.7 x 22.9 x 12.7 cm (29 x 9 x 5 in.), R: 72.7 x 21.6 x 16.2 cm (28 5/8 x 8 1/2 x 6 3/8 in.)
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AMICA Contributor:
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The Art Institute of Chicago
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Owner Location:
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Chicago, Illinois, USA
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ID Number:
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1997.714
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Credit Line:
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The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf
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Rights:
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Related Image Identifier Link:
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AIC_.E32331.TIF
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