Important Notice

KARNATAKA/ANDHRA PRADESH
18/19TH CENTURY
Bronze
15.5 in (39 cm) high

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Shiva manifests as Mallana, the deity of shepherds, represented by this mask.

Shiva, the destroyer, who ends one age so another may begin, is one of the three gods of the Hindu Trinity. He is represented and worshipped in both iconic and aniconic forms.

In the iconic form, Shiva has been variously represented in Indian sculpture and painting through the ages. Miniature paintings show him with his consort, Parvati, sometimes with his son, Ganesha, and often accompanied by his mount, Nandi, the bull. In sculpture, he is shown in various avatars, and is most popular as the dancing Nataraja. In aniconic representation, Shiva is abstracted to a lingam.

KARNATAKA/ANDHRA PRADESH
18/19TH CENTURY
Bronze
15.5 in (39 cm) high

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

In Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Shiva manifests as Mallana, the deity of shepherds, represented by this mask.

Shiva, the destroyer, who ends one age so another may begin, is one of the three gods of the Hindu Trinity. He is represented and worshipped in both iconic and aniconic forms.

In the iconic form, Shiva has been variously represented in Indian sculpture and painting through the ages. Miniature paintings show him with his consort, Parvati, sometimes with his son, Ganesha, and often accompanied by his mount, Nandi, the bull. In sculpture, he is shown in various avatars, and is most popular as the dancing Nataraja. In aniconic representation, Shiva is abstracted to a lingam.