Important Notice

KERALA, 15TH - 16TH CENTURY
Bronze
9 in (22.9 cm) high

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Mumbai

Shiva is one of the gods of the Trinity, who is known primarily as the destroyer, but he also blesses and protects his devotees. He is shown standing erect and with four arms (Chandrashekhara). His right hand is raised in the abhaya mudra in a gesture of reassurance and protection. His rear arms would have held his attributes. His hair is tied into a jatamukuta. He has a third eye - a prominent feature in the iconography of Shiva sculptures - between his eyebrows.

The size of this sculpture makes it a rare and unique work from Kerala. A similar sculpture is published in Sivaramamurthy, South Indian Bronzes, pl. 95b. That sculpture, an early Chola bronze from the 10th century, was originally in the Konerirajapuram Temple in Tamil Nadu, and is now a part of the Bhedwar Collection, Mumbai.

KERALA, 15TH - 16TH CENTURY
Bronze
9 in (22.9 cm) high

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Mumbai

Shiva is one of the gods of the Trinity, who is known primarily as the destroyer, but he also blesses and protects his devotees. He is shown standing erect and with four arms (Chandrashekhara). His right hand is raised in the abhaya mudra in a gesture of reassurance and protection. His rear arms would have held his attributes. His hair is tied into a jatamukuta. He has a third eye - a prominent feature in the iconography of Shiva sculptures - between his eyebrows.

The size of this sculpture makes it a rare and unique work from Kerala. A similar sculpture is published in Sivaramamurthy, South Indian Bronzes, pl. 95b. That sculpture, an early Chola bronze from the 10th century, was originally in the Konerirajapuram Temple in Tamil Nadu, and is now a part of the Bhedwar Collection, Mumbai.