The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Green tarnished trident with two prongs curving in almost to meet a central prong and a figure of Shiva standing in front of the central prong. His right side is male, with two arms, one holding an axe and the other leaning on the head of a bull that stands below him, half his size. His left side is female, with a full breast, broad hips, long skirt, and one arm.

Trident with Shiva as Half-Woman (Ardhanarishvara)

c. 1050

South India, Tamil Nadu, Chola period

(900-13th Century)
bronze
Overall: 39.6 cm (15 9/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1969.117
Location: 244 Indian and Southeast Asian

Description

The form of the trident—the main weapon of the Hindu god Shiva—dramatically and elegantly encircles his form in which the left side is female and the right side is male. The male side has the matted locks of a yogi piled high on his head; he holds an ax and leans on his mount, the bull. The female side has a jeweled crown, earring, full breast, broad hips, long skirt, and only one arm. The lower hands probably held a stringed instrument. This particular iconic form of Shiva visually indicates that he embodies all phenomena, even if they seem contradictory. He is male and female, destructive and creative, yogi and royal sovereign, hunter and musician.
  • ?-1969
    (William H. Wolff [1906-1991], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1969-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art,
  • Pal, Pratapaditya. Krishna: the Cowherd King. [Los Angeles]: [Los Angeles County Museum of Art], 1972. Reproduced: p. 23, #10; mentioned: p. 24
    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
    Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. Masterworks of Asian Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998. Reproduced: pp. 148-149
    Dehejia, Vidya, Richard H. Davis, Irā Nākacāmi, and Karen Pechilis. The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India. New York: American Federation of Arts, 2002. Reproduced: cat. no. 26, pp. 146-149
    Fernando, Christopher, Vivian Kung Haga, and Chantal Legros. Beyond Beauty: What Is Real Beauty? San Diego, Calif: Museum of Photographic Arts, 2005.
  • The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 6-September 14, 2003).
    Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).
    Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).
  • {{cite web|title=Trident with Shiva as Half-Woman (Ardhanarishvara)|url=false|author=|year=c. 1050|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1969.117