The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 13, 2025
Stone sculptures in a Shiva temple
c. 1710
Page: 38 x 24.8 cm (14 15/16 x 9 3/4 in.)
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
An image of Ganesha can be seen on the left wall of the sanctum sanctorum.Description
Viewers see a temple sanctum, the innermost and holiest part of a temple, from the point of view of the artist standing in front of the doorway. On a pedestal is a stone carving of the Hindu god Shiva on his mount, the bull Nandi. His wife, the goddess Parvati, sits on a lotus above his folded knee. The flowers, textiles, and devotional pigments are traces of ardent religious activity. At the right is an abstract cylindrical sculpture denoting the formless essence of Shiva, known as a linga. The tridents in front of the linga’s pedestal were placed by devotees whose wishes came true after visiting the temple.- Stuart Cary Welch [1928–2008]May 31, 2011(Sotheby's London, England, The Stuart Cary Welch Collection, Part two: Arts of India, 31 May 2011 sale, lot 76B)?–2018Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Barbara Timmer, Beverly Hills, CA, partial sale and gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art2018–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- {{cite web|title=Stone sculptures in a Shiva temple|url=false|author=|year=c. 1710|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.112