Shiva as Vanquisher of the Three Cities (Shiva Tripuravijaya)
This majestic image of Shiva as the supreme victor over the Three Cities of the demons is one of the greatest realizations of this regal form of Shiva as the destroyer of evil, a masterpiece in the corpus of imperial quality devotional bronze icons produced under Chola patronage. This work may be assigned to the peak of imperial Chola production under Rajarajachola I or his immediate successors. Infused with all the majesty of a conquering king, this form of Shiva was much revered by the Chola rulers, as both their spiritual protector and as a divine role model for their imperial ambitions.
Artwork Details
- Title: Shiva as Vanquisher of the Three Cities (Shiva Tripuravijaya)
- Period: Chola period
- Date: ca. 1000–1020
- Culture: India, Tamil Nadu
- Medium: Copper alloy
- Dimensions: H. 22 1/2 in. (57.2 cm); W. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm); D. 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace and The Vincent Astor Foundation Gifts, funds from various donors, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions Fund for Asian Art, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation and Harris Brisbane Dick Funds, Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Chilton Jr. Gift, Oscar L. Tang Fund for Asian Art, Fletcher Fund, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions Fund, Eliot and Wilson Nolen Gift, and Seymour Fund; Mrs. Stephen V. Harkness Fund, Bequests of Bernard M. Baruch and Mary Strong Shattuck, Gifts of George D. Pratt and Mrs. Lewis S. Wolff, from the Estate of Dorothea Wolff, and Rogers Fund, by exchange, 2018
- Object Number: 2018.757
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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