COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
mediaCollectionId
AMICO~1~1
The AMICA Library
Collection
true
AMICA ID:
ASIA.1979.031
amicoid
ASIA.1979.031
AMICA ID
false
AMICA Library Year:
1998
aly
1998
AMICA Library Year
false
Object Type:
Sculpture
oty
Sculpture
Object Type
false
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Indian Sub-Continent; Indian
crc
Asian; Indian Sub-Continent; Indian
Creator Nationality
false
Creator Dates/Places:
South Indian
cdt
South Indian
Creator Dates/Places
false
Creator Name-CRT:
South Indian
crt
South Indian
Creator Name-CRT
false
Title:
Celestial Entertainer
otn
Celestial Entertainer
Title
false
View:
Full view
rid
Full view
View
false
Creation Date:
Western Chalukyan period, late 11th-early 12th century
oct
Western Chalukyan period, late 11th-early 12th century
Creation Date
false
Creation Start Date:
1067
ocs
1067
Creation Start Date
false
Creation End Date:
1133
oce
1133
Creation End Date
false
Materials and Techniques:
Schist (metasiltstone)
omd
Schist (metasiltstone)
Materials and Techniques
false
Creation Place:
India, Karnataka
ocp
India, Karnataka
Creation Place
false
Dimensions:
H. 39 3/4 in. (101 cm)
met
H. 39 3/4 in. (101 cm)
Dimensions
false
AMICA Contributor:
Asia Society
oon
Asia Society
AMICA Contributor
false
Owner Location:
New York, New York, USA
oop
New York, New York, USA
Owner Location
false
ID Number:
1979.031
ooa
1979.031
ID Number
false
Credit Line:
Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection
ooc
Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection
Credit Line
false
Rights:
orl
<a href="http://www.asiasociety.org"target="_new">http://www.asiasociety.org</a>
Rights
false
Context:
Idealized feminine forms often adorned the exterior and interior of Hindu temples. Their function was to entertain the gods, but also to remind the faithful of the sanctity of the temple--which, like a heaven, is filled continually with music and dance. This celestial entertainer under a flowering tree was originally a bracket situated above one of eight pillars in a Hindu temple hallway and was intended to be viewed from below. She holds a pair of cymbals commonly used by dancers, and her dense jewelry, broad shoulders, tiny waist, and full thighs are typical of sculpture from Karnataka. The exaggerated and elongated proportions, oval face, and delicate features distinguish this dancer from her northern counterparts, along with her elaborate jewelry. She wears three necklaces of varying lengths, enormous hoop earrings (now broken), armlets, and anklets. A jeweled girdle from which are suspended several lengths of interwoven beads, one reaching to her ankles, encircle her hips. Finally, garlands of beads decorate her shoulders, one length of beads falling to her knees. The staggering complexity and three-dimensionality of this decoration attest to the sheer technical virtuosity of sculptors working in India at the height of Hinduism and temple building.
cxd
Idealized feminine forms often adorned the exterior and interior of Hindu temples. Their function was to entertain the gods, but also to remind the faithful of the sanctity of the temple--which, like a heaven, is filled continually with music and dance. This celestial entertainer under a flowering tree was originally a bracket situated above one of eight pillars in a Hindu temple hallway and was intended to be viewed from below. She holds a pair of cymbals commonly used by dancers, and her dense jewelry, broad shoulders, tiny waist, and full thighs are typical of sculpture from Karnataka. The exaggerated and elongated proportions, oval face, and delicate features distinguish this dancer from her northern counterparts, along with her elaborate jewelry. She wears three necklaces of varying lengths, enormous hoop earrings (now broken), armlets, and anklets. A jeweled girdle from which are suspended several lengths of interwoven beads, one reaching to her ankles, encircle her hips. Finally, garlands of beads decorate her shoulders, one length of beads falling to her knees. The staggering complexity and three-dimensionality of this decoration attest to the sheer technical virtuosity of sculptors working in India at the height of Hinduism and temple building.
Context
false
Related Document Description:
Asia Society. Handbook of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection. New York: Asia Society, [1981], p. 18.
rdd
Asia Society. <I>Handbook of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection.</I> New York: Asia Society, [1981], p. 18.
Related Document Description
false
Related Document Description:
Newman, Richard. The Stone Sculpture of India: A Study of the Materials Used by Indian Sculptors from ca. 2nd Century B.C. to the 16th Century. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Art Museums, Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, 1984, pp. 17, 20, 25-27, 65-66, 84.
rdd
Newman, Richard. <I>The Stone Sculpture of India: A Study of the Materials Used by Indian Sculptors from ca. 2nd Century B.C. to the 16th Century</I>. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Art Museums, Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, 1984, pp. 17, 20, 25-27, 65-66, 84.
Related Document Description
false
Related Image Identifier Link:
ASIA.1979.031.a.tif
ril
ASIA.1979.031.a.tif
Related Image Identifier Link
false