Parvati is the consort of Shiva and mother of the elephant-headed god Ganesha. This magnificent statue is one of the finest Chola representations of Parvati found outside India. The genius and obvious skill of the sculptor produced a timeless image of the goddess as well as a female figure of surpassing beauty and grace. Her lyrical, rhythmic carriage and the soft yet firm lines of her body suggest the ideal of the divine and eternal female.
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Title:Standing Parvati
Period:Chola period
Date:ca. first quarter of the 10th century
Culture:Indian (Tamil Nadu)
Medium:Copper alloy
Dimensions:H. 27 3/8 in. (69.5 cm); W. 10 1/4 in. (26 cm); D. 6 11/16 in. (17 cm)
Classification:Metalwork
Credit Line:Bequest of Cora Timken Burnett, 1956
Accession Number:57.51.3
[ Unknown dealer, Pondicherry, India, by 1935; sold to Kevorkian]; [ Carneg Kevorkian , Paris, from 1935; sold to Burnett by 1956]; Cora Timken Burnett , Alpine, NJ (by d. 1956; bequeathed to MMA)
Art Institute of Chicago. "Master Bronzes of India," September 3, 1965–October 10, 1965.
Cleveland Museum of Art. "Master Bronzes of India," January 19, 1966–February 27, 1966.
New York. Asia House Gallery. "Master Bronzes of India," October 12, 1966–December 11, 1966.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of the Art of India from The Museum's Collections," January 18–May 31, 1973.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Bronze Sculptures from Asia," February 25, 1975–March 21, 1976.
Sivaramamurti, C. South Indian Bronzes. Lalit Kala series of Indian art. [New Delhi]: Lalit Kala Akademi, [1963], pl. 58.
Munsterberg, Hugo. Art of India and Southeast Asia. New York: Harry N. Abrams, [1970], p. 136.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983, p. 249, fig.22.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Asia. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987, p. 134, pl. 89.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. 2nd ed., New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994, p. 101, fig. 22.
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