Goddess Parvati

Origin: South Indian, Chola Period (about 850-1310)
Date: 12th century
Medium: Copper and bronze
Gift of F. B. Vanderhoef, Jr. in honor of
Charles W. Millard
91.23

Parvati, one of the numerous incarnations of the powerful, fierce and radiant goddess Devi, is sometimes called the goddess of the mountains. Wife to the ascetic Shiva, himself one of the most revered Hindu gods, Parvati is the mother of Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of wisdom.

This sculpture of Parvati is a wonderful example of the bronzes created during the Chola period. The Cholas, devotees of Shiva, ruled southern India from the mid-ninth through the eleventh centuries. During their reign, a new architectural vocabulary was created and a period of remarkable bronze castings was initiated. This Parvati would most likely have been used in processionals.