Detail View: The AMICA Library: Siva Nataraja
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AMICA ID:
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MIA_.29.2
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AMICA Library Year:
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2000
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Object Type:
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Sculpture
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Creator Name:
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Chola period
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Creator Nationality:
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Asian; Indian Sub-Continent; Indian
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Creator Role:
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sculptor
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Creator Name-CRT:
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Chola period
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Title:
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Siva Nataraja
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View:
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Front
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Creation Date:
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late 10th century
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Creation Start Date:
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966
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Creation End Date:
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999
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Materials and Techniques:
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bronze
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Classification Term:
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bronze
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Dimensions:
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H.28 in.
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Component Measured:
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height only
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Measurement Unit:
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in
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AMICA Contributor:
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The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
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Owner Location:
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Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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ID Number:
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29.2
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Credit Line:
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Gift of Mrs. E. C. Gale
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Rights:
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Context:
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Shiva, in his form of Nataraja or Lord of the Dance, was adopted by the imperial Cholas as their family deity. For this reason, images of Shiva performing his cosmic dance became widely popular in South India where the Cholas ruled from the early tenth century. The dance symbolizes the five activities of Shiva as the cosmic deity: creator, preserver, destroyer, remover of illusion and dispenser of grace. The great god tramples the prostrate dwarf Apasmarapurusa, the demon of ignorance. Found in a temple near Pondicherry; the frenzied, destructive force of the cosmic cycle, Shiva's perpetual motion and the sense of unearthly power is fully expressed in this archetypal sculpture. |
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Related Image Identifier Link:
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MIA_.10123c.tif
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