QUEEN SEMBIYAN MAHADEVI AS THE GODDESS PARVATI
Poets in Tamil Nadu, south India, used multiple symbols from nature such as lotuses and bamboo as metaphors for the beauty of goddesses and gods. They frequently compared a woman’s slender arms and legs to stalks of bamboo. Here, a historical south Indian queen is idealized as the goddess Uma.
Hindu devotees celebrated this goddess by carrying her heavy bronze image in public processions that brought blessings to anyone who saw her. Although the sculpture would have been dressed and adorned for worship, the master artist who created it also cast all the details of jewelry and garments along with the body.
Object Number
F1929.84
Date
10th century, Chola dynasty
Place of Origin
India
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H × W × D: 107.3 × 33.4 × 25.7 cm
(42 1/4 × 13 1/8 × 10 1/8 in.)
Credit line
Purchase—Charles Lang Freer Endowment