Shiva as Lord of Music
Unknown Artist
c. 1000
Medium
bronze
Dimensions
76.5 × 45 cm · base: w. 26 cm, d. 25 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession Number
1971.117
About this artwork
After he created the world, Shiva manifested himself in a variety of ways, each of which emphasized a different aspect of his all-encompassing, complex personality. As Lord of Music, he is serene and beneficent. He holds a stringed instrument called the vina, which is missing in this example, but the fingers of his lowered hands are in the position of playing it. His other two attributes in this form are the axe and the rearing antelope, which references knowledge of the Vedic texts, which are t...