Shiva and Parvati (c. 1020–40): Art, History and Details

Shiva and Parvati (c. 1020–40) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Bronze sculptures made during the Chola period (800s–1200s) are among the most celebrated and popular art forms of the Indian tradition. The sensual renditions of attenuated, youthful, and athletic forms are barely covered by garments and ornaments that move, yet cling to the bodies. The figures stand with a natural ease, and the volumes have been so skillfully rendered by the artists that they appear to be capable of walking the earth. Their serene and smiling expressions are completely idealized, leaving no mistake that these are gods, not humans.

Object facts

• Title: Shiva and Parvati
• Date: c. 1020–40
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: bronze
• Dimensions: Base: 21.6 x 79.5 x 24.9 cm (8 1/2 x 31 5/16 x 9 13/16 in.); Part 1: 81.9 x 48.7 cm (32 1/4 x 19 3/16 in.); Part 2: 65.1 x 16.5 cm (25 5/8 x 6 1/2 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1961.94

A detail from the museum

The posts on the sides of the pedestal once supported a halo that surrounded both figures.

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review 1961.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 48, no. 9, 1961, pp. 219–251.
• "Annual Report for 1961.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 49, no. 6, 1962, pp. 115–145.
• Master Bronzes of India: The Art Institute of Chicago ... [et al]. Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1965.

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.