Perspectives
Sherman E. Lee is a retired museum director and Asian art expert Next | Back | Section | Home | Index

The profile of the figure-- the legs, the chest, the outstretched arms-- all those are done with great elan. They have a spring to them. The muscular movement is never obvious, but it's still there in the body. It's balanced, despite the fact that it's in vigorous action. It's a wonderful patina-- the cinnamon-brown is very good. And the face is particularly attractive... it's a perfect image.
It's a characteristic Chola bronze. Everything about it's Chola.

Chola. Early Chola, Middle Chola, and late Chola. The beginning is in the 9th century, the later 9th century. And you get very, very fine images that carry on the traditions of the previous dynasty. And usually they're more slender and the headdress is not formalized as such. The Middle Chola, which this is, is 10th and 11th centuries and all characteristics: high, bound hair; the facial type, especially the eyes, nose, mouth are in perfect balance. And they're a little fleshed out, but not exaggerated. The figure is the same form; it's a little plumper than the Early Chola. The ornaments are relatively simple.

In later Chola and Vijayanagara, which is the dynasty that followed the Chola, there's a tendency to weight the figure down with a little more emphasis on the ornament. And the facial type becomes less expressive, almost mask-like.

This piece is a classic example of the period of Raj Raj I, about 1000 A.D. He built the great temple at Tanjore. It was the largest temple in South India, and it was very elaborate with a great tower and hundreds of figures that show this style rather well. After Raj Raj I, began a decline in the dynasty. Decline brings with it a certain slackness in things. This is at the peak.