id: 154793
accession number: 1989.369
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1989.369
updated:
Standing Shiva Mahadeva, 700s. Northern India, Kashmir, 8th century. Schist; overall: 53 cm (20 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin 1989.369
title: Standing Shiva Mahadeva
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: 700s
creation date earliest: 700
creation date latest: 800
current location: 244 Indian and Southeast Asian
creditline: Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin
copyright:
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culture: Northern India, Kashmir, 8th century
technique: schist
department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection: Indian Art
type: Sculpture
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
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measurements: Overall: 53 cm (20 7/8 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: The Severance and Greta Millikin Collection
opening date: 1990-07-05T04:00:00
The Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 5-September 2, 1990).
title: Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure
opening date: 2003-04-05T00:00:00
Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (organizer) (April 5-August 17, 2003); Smithsonian Institution Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC (October 19, 2003-January 11, 2004).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
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PROVENANCE
Severance A. [1895–1985] and Greta [Marguerite Steckerl] Millikin [1903–1989], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
date: 1969–1989
footnotes:
citations:
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
date: 1989–
footnotes:
citations:
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fun fact:
digital description:
wall description:
This early iconic form of Shiva as the Great God, or mahadeva, embodies his contradictory aspects. Shiva is both a yogi who lives outside of society and a king who rules the world. His yogic qualities can be seen in the matted locks of hair and the cobra that girds his torso, yet he wears a king’s crown. The forward-looking face of Shiva embodies his sovereignty. He grants freedom from fear with the gesture of his upraised right hand; his lowered left hand holds a citrus fruit, used in temple worship. His feminine aspect embodies features associated with creation and nurturing. She emanates as his wife Parvati, here seen as his left face. His right head is Bhairava, whose fearsome face embodies Shiva’s powers of destruction. His two sons, the elephant-headed Ganesha and the warrior Skanda, stand at his feet. Shiva’s vehicle, the bull Nandi, turns his head with a determination in all three of his eyes, which mirror the three eyes of Shiva.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Catalogue of the Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1990.
page number: cat. no. 183
url:
Pal, Pratapaditya, Amy Heller, Oskar von Hinüber, and Gautamavajra Vajrācārya. Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure. Chicago, IL: Art Institute of Chicago in association with University of California Press and Mapin Pub, 2003.
page number: cat. no. 67, p. 112
url:
Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 205
url:
Reddy, Ravinder. Arms & Armour of India, Nepal & Sri Lanka: Types, Decoration and Symbolism. London: Hali Publications, 2018.
page number: Reproduced: p. 226
url:
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1989.369/1989.369_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1989.369/1989.369_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1989.369/1989.369_full.tif