Unknown Artist
- Title
- Figure of Shani
- Other titles:
- Figure of Sani
- Place of origin
-
Kurkihar →
Bihar →
India
- Period
- Pala Period circa 760 - 1142 → India
- Year
- late 10th century-early 11th century
- Media category
- Sculpture
- Materials used
- copper alloy
- Dimensions
-
14.5cm high
- Signature & date
- Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Gift of the Margaret Hannah Olley Art Trust 1991
- Accession number
- 267.1991
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
Shani (Saturn) the slow mover, is the son of the solar deity Rudra (Siva-Rudra). In this sensuous small bronze of Shani, the forward and backward thrust of the legs, the motioning of the arms and hands, and the rhythmic sideward turning of the relaxed frontal torso combine to create a graceful posture symbolic of contained energy and celestial movement. Large numbers of bronzes were produced in the Pala period, most of them for private worship.
Asian Art Department, AGNSW, October 1991
- Bibliography (1)
-
Ulrich von Schroeder (Author), Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981. cat.no. 70B
- Exhibition history (1)
-
Great gifts, great patrons, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 17 Aug 1994–19 Oct 1994.
