The artist who created this bronze Shiva is unknown. Many bronzes depicting Shiva Nataraja were produced in South India during the Chola Dynasty (880–1279). The Chola rulers were great patrons of the arts and were deeply devoted to Shiva as Lord of the Dance. Chola period sculptures conform to iconographic conventions, so sculptures from different centuries can look similar. Artists followed guidelines that determined size and proportions according to the deity’s hierarchical importance. As a result, the artist’s use of symbols and the intricacy and quality of craftsmanship are more important than originality.
Shiva, god of time, destruction, and creation, is the most popular and dramatic of the Hindu deities.One of Shiva’s many names and guises is the evocative Shiva Nataraja, Lord of dance and cosmic movement. The image of Shiva Nataraja gives concrete expression to the Hindu idea of endless motion and change in the physical world. Shiva dances the eternal, ceaseless energy of the cosmos, setting forth all movement and change, creation and destruction.
Shiva’s multiple arms suggest protection over the worshiper. In his upper right hand, he holds an hourglass-shaped drum that beats the rhythm of his dance. The drum represents sound, a vehicle of speech, divine truth, and revelation. The beating drum also conveys the sound of resonating space at the dawn of creation, a symbol of life. In Shiva’s upper left hand burns a flame, an element that destroys the world in Indian mythology. Life and death exist side by side in Shiva’s paradoxical nature.
In the “fear not” mudra (gesture) of reassurance, Shiva bestows protection and peace with his second right hand, while his lower left hand points to his uplifted leg. Shiva’s elevated leg, imitating an elephant’s trunk, represents his elephant-son Ganesha, who is “remover of obstacles.” Shiva Nataraja dances atop a dwarf demon, Apasmars Purusa, the embodiment of human ignorance and forgetfulness. As Shiva sets all life in motion with his dance, he assures people that once ignorance is stamped out, so will the pain of life, death, and rebirth. Shiva Nataraja shows his followers that an ever-changing world provides a path for peace.
Representing eternal energy, Shiva Nataraja’s flying arms and legs, swaying torso, and stamping feet depict the cycle of creation and destruction in the universe. The dramatic movement of his body contrasts his balanced head and immobile, masklike countenance, which signifies the peace the deity brings. In a single pose, Shiva resolves opposite forces, simultaneously transmitting eternal motion and complete serenity. Intricate jewelry and body ornaments emphasize Shiva’s smooth form. Dynamic and elegant, bronze was a material that defined the aesthetic of South India.
This sculpture is an outstanding example of Indian bronze casting produced with the “lost wax” process.The complete image was first molded in wax and attached to a series of wax tubes to provide venting. The wax sculpture was then coated with clay mixed with ground charred husks, cotton, and salt. Three coatings of clay were applied, with the outer coating the thickest. The clay mold was then heated, to allow the wax to melt out. A perfect mold of the original wax sculpture remained after heating. Next, molten bronze was poured into the clay mold through the space created by the inserted tubes. When the metal cooled, the clay mold was broken away. After the tubes were cut off, the bronze sculpture’s surface was cleaned.
A statue of Shiva Nataraja would have resided in a temple to be used for individual devotion, rituals, or festivals, or placed in a shrine in a private home for protection and good luck. Decorated with resplendent costumes, jewelry, and flower garlands, this statue of Shiva would have been carried in public processions on wooden poles inserted through the holes in its base.