Archival Details

• Tradition: Chola Bronze
• Period: c. 1000
• Medium: bronze
• Dimensions: height: 58.4 cm (23 in.)
• Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
• Source: The Cleveland Museum of Art, accession 1980.26

Chola-period bronzes were cast in South India, chiefly under the Chola dynasty (9th–13th century), using the lost-wax (cire perdue) process. Temple workshops in Tamil Nadu produced processional images of Shaiva and Vaishnava deities that were carried in festival rituals, and the tradition is widely regarded as a high point of Indian metal sculpture for its fluid modeling and iconographic precision.