Shiva with Uma and Skanda (Somaskanda)

Artist Unknown

Date12th century

Creation PlaceTamil Nadu, India

MediumBronze

Dimensions48.5 x 59.7 x 28.9 cm (19 1/8 x 23 1/2 x 11 3/8 in.)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Terms

bronze

Object number1951.93

DescriptionSomaskanda type of bronze sculpture. Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, seated on the legendary sacred Mount Kailasa where he resides. Three principal figures: Shiva on the left; his female energy personified as his consort, Parvati on the right; and their infant son, Skanda, otherwise known as Kartikeya, in the middle. Unusual in its depiction of a seated Skanda, who is commonly shown standing or dancing. The two upright spikes at the base were designed to hold a large semicircular halo that framed the figures, though it no longer survives. The four rings at the bottom of the base were used to secure this work to a platform so it could be carried during processions.
Label TextThe full lips, prominent noses, and smooth volumes of these figures characterize the art of the Chola dynasty, whose Shivaite rulers controlled South India from the tenth to the twelfth century- a period when bronze casting flourished. Somaskandamurti is a manifestation of Shiva, the greatest god of the Hindu trinity, seated on Mount Kailasa, the mountain throne of the gods. The multiple aspects of Shiva are combined in three personages: the god himself, his consort Parvati, and his son Skanda. This type of representation is peculiar to South India, where it originated during the Pallava period (about fifth to ninth century). Depicted sitting with one leg bent in the position of royal ease, Shiva holds an ax (symbol of his power) and an antelope (symbol of his rule over the beasts of the wilderness). His lower hands make the gestures of holding a flower and assurance. Parvati sits in a mirror image of her consort's pose, wearing a cord with a marriage symbol around her neck. Her gestures symbolize granting a gift and holding a flower. An atypical feature is the projecting section of the base on which their son Skanda, the demon slayer, is placed. Usually he appears standing or sitting alongside his parents on a rectangular block.ProvenanceBy 1933, Franz von Rexroth, Wiesbaden, Germany; (December 5, 1933, sold at auction at Hugo Helbing, Frankfurt am Main, sale no. 39.1933, lot no. 353, catalogue plate no. 15); reportedly purchased by an anonymous German collector [d. 1940], Berlin, whose widow removed the bronze from Soviet-occupied Berlin to the United Kingdom between 1945 and 1949; (by 1951, Spink & Son, Ltd., London); 1951, purchased by the Worcester Art Museum.

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