Nandi, Shiva's Bull
Artist/maker unknown, Indian
Geography:
Made in Tamil Nadu, India, Asia
Period:
Medieval PeriodDate:
c. 1200Medium:
GraniteDimensions:
21 1/4 × 16 1/2 × 29 3/4 inches (54 × 41.9 × 75.6 cm)Curatorial Department:
South Asian ArtObject Location:
1994-148-25Credit Line:
Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994
Made in Tamil Nadu, India, Asia
Period:
Medieval PeriodDate:
c. 1200Medium:
GraniteDimensions:
21 1/4 × 16 1/2 × 29 3/4 inches (54 × 41.9 × 75.6 cm)Curatorial Department:
South Asian ArtObject Location:
Currently not on view
Accession Number:1994-148-25Credit Line:
Stella Kramrisch Collection, 1994
Label:
The bull Nandi ("rejoicing") is the Hindu god Shiva's vehicle and his complementary image. Shiva is a great ascetic whose power emerges as contained sexual energy. Appropriately, he is accompanied by the virile bull. An image of Nandi sits in the hall or porch of temples dedicated to Shiva, facing into the sanctum like the primary devotee that it is. This sculpture comes from a temple in the southern India. The granitic stone from which it is carved is more difficult to work than the softer stones used for most northern Indian sculpture, resulting in a bolder, less-detailed image.
The bull Nandi ("rejoicing") is the Hindu god Shiva's vehicle and his complementary image. Shiva is a great ascetic whose power emerges as contained sexual energy. Appropriately, he is accompanied by the virile bull. An image of Nandi sits in the hall or porch of temples dedicated to Shiva, facing into the sanctum like the primary devotee that it is. This sculpture comes from a temple in the southern India. The granitic stone from which it is carved is more difficult to work than the softer stones used for most northern Indian sculpture, resulting in a bolder, less-detailed image.
