A bronze figure of Shiva Nataraja, India, early 20th Century.
Dancing on the prostrate dwarf on a lotus base , the left leg raised and his hands outstretched holding a damaru and flaming lamp, adorned with a streaming sash with a naga wrapped around his forearm, the benevolent face backed by a shrirashchakra and the flared tresses of hair supporting the goddess Ganga, surrounded by a flaming aureole. Höjd 31,5 cm.
Wear.
Provenance
The Bengt and Lilavati Häger Collection of Indian Collection of Indian, Southeast Asian, Chinese and Japanese Art.
More information
The sculpture is symbolic of Shiva as the lord of dance and dramatic arts, with its style and proportions made according to Hindu texts on arts. It typically shows Shiva dancing in one of the Natya Shastra poses, holding Agni (fire) in his left back hand, the front hand in gajahasta or dandahasta mudra, the front right hand with a wrapped snake that is in abhaya (fear not) mudra while pointing to a Sutra text, and the back hand holding a musical instrument usually a damaru.His body, fingers, ankles, neck, face, head, ear lobes and dress are shown decorated with symbolic items, which vary with historic period and region. He is surrounded by a ring of flames, standing on a lotus pedestal, lifting his left leg (or in rare cases, the right leg) and balancing over a demon shown as a dwarf (Apasmara or Muyalaka) who symbolizes ignorance.