Pudhu Mandapa of Tirumal Nayak (r. 1623–59), Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai
Medium
albumen print
Dimensions
image: 35.7 × 27.3 cm · mounted: 57.4 × 45.4 cm
Classification
Photograph
Department
Photography
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
2020.211
Tags
male
About this artwork
The temple complex that contains this open, pillared hall is dedicated to Minakshi, a form of Parvati, and her consort, Sundareshvara, a form of Shiva. The central column depicts Shiva feeding sugarcane to an elephant. Because Linnaeus Tripe respected the Hindu temples as places of religious, historical, and artistic value, he strove to document the carvings decorating the temples, even when they were hidden in shadow.