- Provenance
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Nasli Heeramaneck, New York [1]
To 1996
Spink & Son Ltd., London, to 1996From 1996
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, purchased from Spink & Son Ltd. in 1996Notes:
[1] According to provenance Remark 1 in the object record.
- Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)
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Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck
Spink & Son Ltd.
- Label
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Exuberant figures of female dancers and musicians, fashioned as decorative brackets, adorn the temples commissioned by the Hoysala monarchs (ca. 1047-1346) of the southern state of Karnataka. Known by the terms madanakai, or "epitomes of love," the celestial figures honored the enshrined god with their music and dance.
A passion for adornment, evident in every item of this dancer's rich jewlery, distinguishes the unmistakable Hoysala style. Her elaborate ornamentation complements the fluid treatment of her bodily form. Sculptors of chloritic schist must work rapidly, because the stone, which is soft and easily worked when freshly quarried, soon turns hard and brittle.
This bracket comes from the same Hoysala temples that featured the finely cut image of the elephant-headed god Ganesha, seen opposite. The two images together represent the balance between sacred and secular art that is so characteristic an ingredient of Indian art.
- Collection Area(s)
- South Asian and Himalayan Art
- Web Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- SI Usage Statement
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Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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International Image Interoperability Framework
FS-2828_07h