Text: Shiva as Lord of Dance (Nataraja) Preference:
preferred Type:
repository
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Creation
Creator Description: unknown Indian
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Identity:unknown Indian Role:sculptor
Authority
Authority
Creation Date:
ca. 11th century, Chola period (880-1279) Earliest:0975 Latest:1125
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Creation Place/Original Location: Southern
India
Authority
Style/Period/ Group/Movement
Indexing Term: Chola
Authority
Measurements
Dimensions Description: 68.3 cm (height)
(26 7/8 inches ); 56.5 cm (diameter) (22 1/4 inches)
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Value: 68.3 Unit: cm
Type: height Value: 68.3 Unit: cm Type: diameter
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format
Materials and Techniques
Description: copper alloy, lost-wax
process
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Material Name: copper alloy Technique Name: lost-wax process
Authority
Subject Matter
Indexing terms:
religion/mythology
Shiva
(Hindu deity)
Nataraja
(Lord of the Dance)
human
figure
male
dancer
Authority
Descriptive Note
Text: Shiva as Lord of the Dance with
a Flaming Body Halo. In his dance of ecstasy Shiva
raised his left leg, and, in a gesture known as the
"gaja hasta," pointed to his lifted leg
to provide refuge for the troubled soul. He thus imparted
the lesson that through belief in him, the soul of
mankind can be transported from the bondage of illusion
and ignorance to salvation and eternal serenity. Encircling
Shiva is a flaming body halo ("prabhamandala,"
or surrounding effulgence) that not only establishes
the visual limits of this complex and dynamic composition
but also symbolizes the boundaries of the cosmos.
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Citation: Metropolitan Museum of Art
online Page: 7 July 2005
Authority
Current Location
Repository Name/Geographic Location:
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, New York, United
States) Repository Number:
1987.80.1
