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Parvati

11th century

India, Tamil Nadu

Copper alloy

H. 21 1/4 x W. 7 x D. 6 1/4 in. (H. 54 cm)

Asia Society, New York: Estate of Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller, 1992.5

Provenance

John D. Rockefeller 3rd, New York, NY; acquired from J. J. Klejman, New York, NY, October 1964.

The Asia Society, New York, NY, bequest of Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller, New York, NY, 1992.

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The Hindu goddess Parvati, who is the wife of Shiva and the mother of Ganesha and Karttikeya, is also worshipped as an independent deity. In this representation, Parvati holds her right hand in a distinctive gesture in which the fingers are curved and the thumb and forefinger touch, indicating that she is holding a flower. Parvati can also be identified by her conical crown with its three mountainlike tiers. The goddess stands in a triple-bend pose (tribhanga) with a pronounced thrust of the hip and her left arm and hand held down in a dance gesture. Her gestures and posture suggest that this sculpture was once part of a set of images which accompanied an image of Shiva in a temple.