Object Details
Label
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.
Provenance
Nasli Heeramaneck, New York [1]
To 1996
Spink & Son Ltd., London, to 1996
From 1996
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, purchased from Spink & Son Ltd. in 1996
Notes:
[1] According to provenance Remark 1 in the object record.
Collection
National Museum of Asian Art Collection
Exhibition History
Sculpture of South Asia and the Himalayas (May 4, 1988 to July 9, 2017)
Previous custodian or owner
Nasli M. and Alice N. Heeramaneck
Spink & Son Ltd. (established 1666)
Credit Line
Purchase -- funds provided by the Friends of Asian Arts
Date
12th century
Period
Hoysala dynasty
Accession Number
S1996.38
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Sculpture
Medium
Chloritic schist
Dimensions
H x W x D: 74.5 x 41.4 x 26 cm (29 5/16 x 16 5/16 x 10 1/4 in)
Origin
Karnataka state, India
Related Online Resources
Google Arts & Culture
See more items in
National Museum of Asian Art
Data Source
National Museum of Asian Art
Topic
flower
music
dancing
Hoysala dynasty (1110 - 1327)
India
apsara
South Asian and Himalayan Art
dancer
Link to Original Record
Record ID
fsg_S1996.38