Stone sculptures in a Shiva temple
1710
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1710
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Stone sculptures in a Shiva temple is a 1710 unspecified by Unknown, a Andean Colonial work, depicting Kalighat, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You’re looking at a dim temple room, lit only by the doorway behind you. A stone Shiva sits on a bull, his wife Parvati perched on his knee. Bright flowers and smeared powders show people have been here praying. The artist stood right where you’d stand to enter, so the view feels like you’re stepping in. The linga on the right—a smooth stone pillar—reminds worshippers that Shiva can also be formless. Want to see more quiet temple scenes like this? Look up northern india, pahari kingdoms.
Viewers see a temple sanctum, the innermost and holiest part of a temple, from the point of view of the artist standing in front of the doorway. On a pedestal is a stone carving of the Hindu god Shiva on his mount, the bull Nandi. His wife, the goddess Parvati, sits on a lotus above his folded knee. The flowers, textiles, and devotional pigments are traces of ardent religious activity. At the right is an abstract cylindrical sculpture denoting the formless essence of Shiva, known as a linga. The tridents in front of the linga’s pedestal were placed by devotees whose wishes came true after…
An image of Ganesha can be seen on the left wall of the sanctum sanctorum.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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