The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Nataraja, Shiva as the Lord of Dance

Nataraja, Shiva as the Lord of Dance

1000s
Overall: 113 x 102 x 30 cm (44 1/2 x 40 3/16 x 11 13/16 in.); Base: 35 x 24 cm (13 3/4 x 9 7/16 in.)

Did You Know?

The trampled figure holds a serpent in his left hand and with his right points up to Shiva.

Description

One of the most celebrated sculptural forms in the history of Indian art, this elegant and dynamic figure embodies some of Hinduism’s most fundamental tenets. According to Hindu thought, time is cyclical; the world is created, maintained, preserved for a time, then destroyed, only to be created again an infinite number of times. For those Hindus who view Shiva to be the all-powerful creator divinity, he is responsible for both creation and destruction. The ring of fire and the tongue of flame he holds in his left hand refer to destruction, and the drum in his raised right hand refers to the relentless beat of time as it moves inevitably forward. His lower right hand, held up with the palm facing out, signals to his devotees not to be afraid of the impending destruction; they can be liberated from the cycles of birth and death through devotion to him, which he indicates by pointing to his upraised foot. With every step in his dance, he lands on a dwarfish figure personifying ignorance.
  • ?–1930
    (C.T. Loo 盧芹齋 [1880–1957], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1930-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 761 archive.org
    Master Bronzes of India: The Art Institute of Chicago ... [et al]. Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1965. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 30
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 236 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 235 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 299 archive.org
    Czuma, Stanislaw J., "Eternal Rhythms" , Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 36 no. 08, October 1996 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 8 archive.org
    Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. Masterworks of Asian Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 146–147
    Connell, Timothy C., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. World Art Transparencies. Cincinnati: West Educational Pub, 1998. Reproduced: Acetate 19
    Fichner-Rathus, Lois. Understanding Art. Fifth edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. Reproduced: no. 18- 30, p. 486
    Murphey, Rhoads. A History of Asia. 3rd Edition. New York: Longman, 1999. Reproduced: p. 122
    Michell, George. Hindu Art and Architecture. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2000. Reproduced: fig. 114, p. 130
    May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. Knockouts: A Pocket Guide. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 98, pp. 88–89, 119
    Preble, Duane, Sarah Preble, and Patrick Frank. Artforms: An Introduction to the Visual Arts. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002. Reproduced: no. 469, p. 324
    Getlein, Mark. Gilbert's Living with Art. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Reproduced: p. 9, fig. 1.9
    Fiero, Gloria K. Prehistory to the Early Modern World. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Reproduced: Fig. 14.2, p. 323
    Palmedo, Philip F., and Bill Barrett. Bill Barrett: Evolution of a Sculptor. New York: Hudson Hills, 2003. p. 29
    Dehejia, Vidya. Chola: Sacred Bronzes of Southern India. London, UK: Royal Academy of Arts, 2006. Reproduced: pp. 46–47, cat. no. 1
    Sims, Lowery S. The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content, and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2006. Reproduced. p. 30; Mentioned: p. 116, no. 17
    Buser, Thomas. Experiencing Art Around Us. Second edition. Australia: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 69, fig. 3-14
    Fiero, Gloria K. Faith, Reason, and Power in the Early Modern World. The Humanistic Tradition. Book 4. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Reproduced: p. 146, fig. 14.2
    Branfoot, Crispin. "Processions and Presence: Bronze Sculptures from the Temples of Southern India." Arts of Asia vol. 36 no. 6 (2006). Reproduced: p. 61, fig. 1
    Knight. Elizabeth. "The Art and Science of Chola Bronzes," Orientations 37, no 8. (2006). Reproduced: p. 47, fig. 1
    Dittmar, Peter. "Dies gewisse Lächeln…" Weltkunst 15 (2006).
    "Sacred Bronzes of Southern India." The Asian Art Newspaper: Monthly for Collectors, Dealers, Museums and Galleries. October 2006. p. 12
    Sims, Lowery Stokes. The persistence of geometry: form, content, and culture in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2006. Mentioned: p. 116; Reproduced: p. 30, no. 17
    "Chola. Heilige Bronzen aus Südindien" Weltkunst issue 15, (December 2006) p. 87
    Dehejia, Vidya. Chola: Sacred Bronzes of Southern India. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2006. Reproduced: cat. no. 1, pp. 46–47
    Locke, Adrian K. "Divine Beauty: Sacred Medieval Bronzes from Southern India." Minerva vol. 18 no. 1 (January-February 2007). Reproduced: p. 24, fig. 7.
    Markbreiter, Robin. "Asian Art in London at the Royal Academy of Arts." Arts of Asia vol. 37 no. 1 (January-February 2007). Reproduced: p. 132
    Franklin, David and C. Griffith Mann. Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 86–87
    Cothren, Michael W. and Marilyn Stokstad. Art History. Fifth Edition. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc., 2014 Reproduced: fig. 10-31, p. 322.
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 208–209
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum Masters: 2016-17 Companion Guide. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016. Reproduced: P. 37
    Dehejia, Vidya. The Thief Who Stole My Heart: The Material Life of Sacred Bronzes from Chola India, 855-1280. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2021. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 16–17
  • Chola: Sacred Bronzes of Southern India. Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (November 11, 2006-February 25, 2007).
    The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), Cleveland, OH (June 9-August 20, 2006).
    The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 6-September 14, 2003).
    Dance of the Gods: Indian Art Inspired by Music. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-December 8, 1996).
    Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).
    Sacred India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5, 1985-January 12, 1986).
    Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).
    Master Bronzes of India. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (September 3-October 10, 1965); William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kansas City, MO (October 21-December 19, 1965); The Cleveland Museum of Art (January 19-February 27, 1966); The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (October 12-December 11, 1966).
    Art: The International Language. The Cleveland Museum of Art (October 2-November 4, 1956).
    Exhibition of the Month: Jewelry of India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 1-June 2, 1947).
    The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
  • {{cite web|title=Nataraja, Shiva as the Lord of Dance|url=false|author=|year=1000s|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1930.331