Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum

A catalogue of the Ashmolean’s collection of Indian art by J. C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield (published Oxford, 1987).

Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum by J. C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield

Publications online: 143 objects

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Figure of the saint Tirumankai Alvar

  • Literature notes

    The icons of Indian art usually represent gods, demi-gods or creatures of myth. Nonetheless, although to a lesser degree than in the West, images have also been made since at the least the 6th century of holy men, great teachers and especially ardent devotees, particularly in South India. The Museum’s collection includes a seated bronze figure of a Vaiṣṇava teacher (ācārya) perhaps Rāmānuja, the great theologian and philosopher [EAX.2387]. Most commonly represented of all, however, are the Śaiva Nāyanārs [see EA1956.673 and EA1956.674] and the Vaiṣṇava saints called Āḻvārs (7th–10th centuries). Tirumaṅkai Āḻvār, depicted here, is one of the most famous of these Tamil saints and hymnists; reformed bandit or highwayman, he is always depicted holding a sword and a shield. The sectarian mark known as the ūrdhva-puṇḍra engraved on his forehead and the little discus (cakra) and conch-shell on his shoulders leave no doubt as to the Vaiṣṇava affiliation of this image.

    Although the legs are rather summarily treated – the shinbones coming to a point in front, in what has been likened to a fish’s roe, facilitating this – the image is not without dignity; and the rear, as so often in South Indian images, is tautly modeled. Small holes in the base are for the insertion of iron rods so that the image can be carried in procession.
  • Details

    Associated place
    AsiaIndiasouth India Tamil Nadu (place of creation)
    Date
    15th century (1401 - 1500)
    Associated people
    saint Tirumankai Alvar (c. 8th – c. 9th century AD) (subject)
    Material and technique
    bronze, solid cast
    Dimensions
    57.5 x 23 x 21 cm max. (height x width x depth)
    Material index
    Technique index
    formed cast
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Purchased, 1967.
    Accession no.
    EA1967.42
  • Further reading

    Harle, J. C., and Andrew Topsfield, Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1987), no. 67 on pp. 55-56, illus. p. 56

Location

    • First floor | Room 32 | India from 600

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Publications online

  • Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum by J. C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield

    Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum

    The icons of Indian art usually represent gods, demi-gods or creatures of myth. Nonetheless, although to a lesser degree than in the West, images have also been made since at the least the 6th century of holy men, great teachers and especially ardent devotees, particularly in South India. The Museum’s collection includes a seated bronze figure of a Vaiṣṇava teacher (ācārya) perhaps Rāmānuja, the great theologian and philosopher [EAX.2387]. Most commonly represented of all, however, are the Śaiva Nāyanārs [see EA1956.673 and EA1956.674] and the Vaiṣṇava saints called Āḻvārs (7th–10th centuries). Tirumaṅkai Āḻvār, depicted here, is one of the most famous of these Tamil saints and hymnists; reformed bandit or highwayman, he is always depicted holding a sword and a shield. The sectarian mark known as the ūrdhva-puṇḍra engraved on his forehead and the little discus (cakra) and conch-shell on his shoulders leave no doubt as to the Vaiṣṇava affiliation of this image.

    Although the legs are rather summarily treated – the shinbones coming to a point in front, in what has been likened to a fish’s roe, facilitating this – the image is not without dignity; and the rear, as so often in South Indian images, is tautly modeled. Small holes in the base are for the insertion of iron rods so that the image can be carried in procession.
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