Sculpture
Figure
15th century or 16th century (made)
15th century or 16th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The god Siva appears in many different and opposed forms. He is both the creator and destroyer, the wild huntsman and the teacher of the arts and sciences, the frightener of men and the friend of men. Here he is disguised as a hunter to test the prowess of Arjuna. A standing male figure holding in the right hand the hilt of a long dagger and in the left a bow. He is bearded and dressed in a kind of leaf-skirt with sash, channavira-type harness, waistband and heavy type of sacred cord. On his head he wears a kind of coronet apparently made of leaves and fronted with a broad fillet which extends to the shoulders on each side. He stands on a double-lotus pedestal which is cast in one piece with a square base, the latter with uprights for the support of an arched-surround or torana, now missing.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Sculpture (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Standing figure of Siva Kiratarjunmurti, bronze, Kerala, 15th century or 16th century. |
| Physical description | The god Siva appears in many different and opposed forms. He is both the creator and destroyer, the wild huntsman and the teacher of the arts and sciences, the frightener of men and the friend of men. Here he is disguised as a hunter to test the prowess of Arjuna. A standing male figure holding in the right hand the hilt of a long dagger and in the left a bow. He is bearded and dressed in a kind of leaf-skirt with sash, channavira-type harness, waistband and heavy type of sacred cord. On his head he wears a kind of coronet apparently made of leaves and fronted with a broad fillet which extends to the shoulders on each side. He stands on a double-lotus pedestal which is cast in one piece with a square base, the latter with uprights for the support of an arched-surround or torana, now missing. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Presented by Miss Malcolm, 67 Sloane Street |
| Object history | Placed in the Metal Room. 12 September, 1887. Presented by Miss Malcolm, 67 Sloane Street. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project. |
| Production | South India Attribution note: Although belonging to a regional school of metalwork less skilled and sophisticated than the Tanjore school, this is nonetheless a fine specimen of its kind. The style seems to have something in common with Vijayanagar murals at Lepakshi. Nagaswamy mentions a "similar representation found at the Padmanabhaswami temple at Trivandrum". A striking feature of the technique is the almost total absence of chiselling. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.43-1887 |
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| Record created | October 11, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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