Chola Skanda, India

Bronze Image of Skanda

Tamil Nadu, South India

Chola Dynasty, 10th-11th century

height (without stand): 15cm; height (with stand): 21cm

This fine image of an infant Shanda, the son of Shiva and his consort Uma (Parvati), dates to the Chola period of South India. The infant god is shown in conventional pose, standing with knees bent and holding in his right hand the stem of a lotus (the bud is now missing) and in his left hand a complete bud.

He wears a tall hair style and copious jewellery, including large, rounded earrings and numerous jewellery waist bands.

The image would have decorated a much larger bronze group which would have included Shiva and Uma, a family group known as a Somaskanda image.The image has a fine, chocolate patina and is mounted on a custom-made wooden stand.

References

Blurton, T.R., Hindu Art, The British Museum Press, 1992.

Guy, J., et al., Chola: Sacred Bronzes of Southern India, Royal Academy of Arts, 2007.

Provenance:

private collection, London.

Inventory no.: 2923

SOLD

A 10th-12th century Somaskanda group photographed at the Maratha Palace, Tanjore (Thanjavur) in December 2014.

Detail of the Skanda image from the bronze above.