Hoyshaleshvara Temple Sculpture, Halebidu (Halebeedu) (1856–57): Art, History and Details

Hoyshaleshvara Temple Sculpture, Halebidu (Halebeedu) (1856–57) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Richard Banner Oakeley (British, 1834–1914).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

On the recommendation of a friend, Oakeley marched 20 days along treacherous country roads to locate the Hoyshaleshvara Temple in southwestern India. Finding it more beautiful than any other building he had seen in southern India, he framed his subject to capture a sense of the lavish number of vivid sculptures that enliven the temple's walls. At the right is the Hindu god Shiva with his wife, the goddess Parvati, seated on his mount, the bull Nandi. At the left, Shiva and Parvati are seated on Mount Kailasha, which a multiarmed demon is attempting to dislodge.

Object facts

• Title: Hoyshaleshvara Temple Sculpture, Halebidu (Halebeedu)
• Date: 1856–57
• Creator attribution: Richard Banner Oakeley (British, 1834–1914)
• Culture: England, 19th century
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: albumenized salt print from waxed paper negative
• Dimensions: Image: 27.2 x 29.2 cm (10 11/16 x 11 1/2 in.); Mounted: 35.3 x 44.4 cm (13 7/8 x 17 1/2 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)
• Collection: PH - British 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2001.152

A detail from the museum

Holysaleswara Temple is a magnificent example of Hindu architecture and sculpture begun during the first half of the 12th century.

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.