Cleveland Museum of Art

Shiva and Parvati

Date

c. 950–60

Medium

bronze

Culture

South India, Tamil Nadu, Chola period (900–1200s))

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Bronze sculptures made during the Chola period (800s–1200s) are among the most celebrated and popular art forms of the Indian tradition, and the 10th century marks their flourishing peak. The sensual renditions of attenuated, youthful, and athletic forms are barely covered by garments and ornaments that move, yet cling to the bodies. The figures stand with a natural ease, and the volumes have been so skillfully rendered by the artists that they appear to be capable of walking the earth. Their serene and smiling expressions are completely idealized, leaving no mistake that these are gods, not humans. The posts on the sides of the pedestal once supported a halo that surrounded both figures.

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