Standing figure of Shiva / India, Central India
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1998/1.181
- Title
- Standing figure of Shiva
- Artist
- India, Central India
- Artist Nationality
- Indian
- Medium and Support
- sandstone
- Object Creation Date
- 10th century - 11th century
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- India (nation)
- Madhya Pradesh (state)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- India (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Madhya Pradesh (state)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mark and Iuliana Phillips
- Dimensions
- 41 cm x 22.4 cm x 9 cm (16 1/8 in. x 8 13/16 in. x 3 9/16 in.)
- Century
- 10th-11th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Sculpture
- Primary Object Type
- figure
- Physical Description
- Shiva stands in an unbending pose and the sculpture is broken just below the knees. He is two-armed and his right hand is raised with his palm outward. His left arm is broken away. He wears a short lower garment with incised lines delineating folds and he is ithyphallic, his upraised penis extending up from behind his belt. He wears simple jewelry, a belt, armlets, a bracelet on the one wrist still extant and a simple beaded necklace. There is an auspicious diamond pattern in the middle of his chest. He has a fleshy face with a full mouth and large eyes, a third eye is incised on his forehead. His hair is done in an elaborate coiffure piled high.
- Subject Matter
- The great Hindu god Shiva encompasses many aspects or personalities, as he has absorbed the conflicting identities of various deities over time. Here he is shown in his role as the divine ascetic, or yogin, unclad but for an animal skin about his loins, and matted hair piled high on his head. His erect phallus simultaneously indicates potency and self-control; it is through arduous practices of self-discipline that he has gained extraordinary powers. At the abstract level, the phallus represents procreative energy that is never exhausted; it is neither erotic nor pornographic to the Hindu viewer. This image, carved from the buff-colored sandstone typical of central India, has an especially graceful stance and sweet facial expression.
- Secondary Keywords
- associated concepts
- hindu
- named gods and goddesses
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people and occupations
- people by state or condition
- religion
- religions
- religions and religious concepts
- subject matter
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 874 x 1442
- File Size
- 158 KB
- Record
- 1998/1.181
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1998-sl-1.181/1998_1.181.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1998-SL-1.181:1998_1.181.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Standing figure of Shiva; India, Central India." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1998-sl-1.181/1998_1.181.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 16, 2024.
