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 Siddha

  • Literature notes

    The Pāla period (750–1150 A.D.), particularly in its earlier phase was a golden age of bronze casting in Northern India. Some of the bronzes are amongst the most elaborate ever cast on the Indian Subcontinent and these small figurines [see EAOS. 70] give little indication of the intricate and multi-figured compositions of the more important bronzes. Nonetheless, the modelling of the feminine deity here is of the highest standard and the whole image is attractive in its proportions and the spacing and arrangement of the elements of what is, considering its small size, a remarkably rich iconography.

    The goddess stands, her weight evenly borne by each leg, on a lotus base. Her upper right hand holds an akṣa-mālā, her upper left an unusual attribute: either fire (agni), a triple rod (tridaṇḍa) or a trident carved out of wood. Her lower right hand makes the varada or boon-giving gesture, possibly holding a fruit as well. The lower left hand holds a spouted jar. On the surround (proper left) is a miniature liṅga with its pīṭha (base); opposite, on the other side, is a tiny image of Gaṇeśa, the elephant-headed god, the son of Śiva and Pārvatī. On top of the pedestal stand two banana plants or plantains (raṃbhā) on either side, with a lion (Pārvatī’s vehicles) and a horned animal, both couchant and facing a little conical object, probably representing a pillar of fire. Climbing on to the base is an iguana (godhā).

    There is some doubt about the identity of this image. Most of her symbols or attributes here leave no doubt that she belongs to the pantheon associated with Śiva, that she is, in fact, a form of the Goddess, Devī. Others are unusual and highly distinctive, such as the plantain, the iguana and the pillar of fire. There are, moreover, corresponding large images in stone from the same Pāla period, as well as other small bronzes, all of which have been identified as Rambhā, from a reference in the Agni Purāna (De Mallmann, pp.139-40). Recently, however, another authority has claimed that this identification rests on a mistranslation. The difficulty in making a firm identification comes in part from the looseness of the language of so many of the traditional texts, and the lack of absolute consistency, with such rich iconography, amongst images of this type. Other identities proposed for this figure are Gaurī, Maṅgalachaṇḍī and Siddhā.
  • Details

    Associated place
    AsiaBengal north Bengal (place of creation)
    Date
    late 9th century - early 10th century AD
    Material and technique
    bronze
    Dimensions
    15.2 x 6.4 x 4 cm max. (height x width x depth)
    Material index
    Technique index
    formed cast
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Accession no.
    EAOS.104
  • Further reading

    Harle, J. C., and Andrew Topsfield, Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1987), no. 42 on pp. 34-35, p. 29, illus. p. 35

    Bhattacharya, Gouriswar, ‘A Special Type of Devi Figure from Bihar and Bengal’, Haque, Enamul, ed., Essays on Buddhist, Hindu, Jain Iconography and Epigraphy, Studies in Bengal Art, 1 (Dhaka: The International Centre for Study of Bengal Art, 2000), p. 183, illus. p. 557 pl. 15.4

Location

    • First floor | Room 32 | India from 600

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Publications online

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

    Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum

    The Pāla period (750–1150 A.D.), particularly in its earlier phase was a golden age of bronze casting in Northern India. Some of the bronzes are amongst the most elaborate ever cast on the Indian Subcontinent and these small figurines [see EAOS. 70] give little indication of the intricate and multi-figured compositions of the more important bronzes. Nonetheless, the modelling of the feminine deity here is of the highest standard and the whole image is attractive in its proportions and the spacing and arrangement of the elements of what is, considering its small size, a remarkably rich iconography.

    The goddess stands, her weight evenly borne by each leg, on a lotus base. Her upper right hand holds an akṣa-mālā, her upper left an unusual attribute: either fire (agni), a triple rod (tridaṇḍa) or a trident carved out of wood. Her lower right hand makes the varada or boon-giving gesture, possibly holding a fruit as well. The lower left hand holds a spouted jar. On the surround (proper left) is a miniature liṅga with its pīṭha (base); opposite, on the other side, is a tiny image of Gaṇeśa, the elephant-headed god, the son of Śiva and Pārvatī. On top of the pedestal stand two banana plants or plantains (raṃbhā) on either side, with a lion (Pārvatī’s vehicles) and a horned animal, both couchant and facing a little conical object, probably representing a pillar of fire. Climbing on to the base is an iguana (godhā).

    There is some doubt about the identity of this image. Most of her symbols or attributes here leave no doubt that she belongs to the pantheon associated with Śiva, that she is, in fact, a form of the Goddess, Devī. Others are unusual and highly distinctive, such as the plantain, the iguana and the pillar of fire. There are, moreover, corresponding large images in stone from the same Pāla period, as well as other small bronzes, all of which have been identified as Rambhā, from a reference in the Agni Purāna (De Mallmann, pp.139-40). Recently, however, another authority has claimed that this identification rests on a mistranslation. The difficulty in making a firm identification comes in part from the looseness of the language of so many of the traditional texts, and the lack of absolute consistency, with such rich iconography, amongst images of this type. Other identities proposed for this figure are Gaurī, Maṅgalachaṇḍī and Siddhā.
  • Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum by J. C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield

    Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum

    The Pāla period (750–1150 A.D.), particularly in its earlier phase was a golden age of bronze casting in Northern India. Some of the bronzes are amongst the most elaborate ever cast on the Indian Subcontinent and these small figurines [see EAOS. 70] give little indication of the intricate and multi-figured compositions of the more important bronzes. Nonetheless, the modelling of the feminine deity here is of the highest standard and the whole image is attractive in its proportions and the spacing and arrangement of the elements of what is, considering its small size, a remarkably rich iconography.

    The goddess stands, her weight evenly borne by each leg, on a lotus base. Her upper right hand holds an akṣa-mālā, her upper left an unusual attribute: either fire (agni), a triple rod (tridaṇḍa) or a trident carved out of wood. Her lower right hand makes the varada or boon-giving gesture, possibly holding a fruit as well. The lower left hand holds a spouted jar. On the surround (proper left) is a miniature liṅga with its pīṭha (base); opposite, on the other side, is a tiny image of Gaṇeśa, the elephant-headed god, the son of Śiva and Pārvatī. On top of the pedestal stand two banana plants or plantains (raṃbhā) on either side, with a lion (Pārvatī’s vehicles) and a horned animal, both couchant and facing a little conical object, probably representing a pillar of fire. Climbing on to the base is an iguana (godhā).

    There is some doubt about the identity of this image. Most of her symbols or attributes here leave no doubt that she belongs to the pantheon associated with Śiva, that she is, in fact, a form of the Goddess, Devī. Others are unusual and highly distinctive, such as the plantain, the iguana and the pillar of fire. There are, moreover, corresponding large images in stone from the same Pāla period, as well as other small bronzes, all of which have been identified as Rambhā, from a reference in the Agni Purāna (De Mallmann, pp.139-40). Recently, however, another authority has claimed that this identification rests on a mistranslation. The difficulty in making a firm identification comes in part from the looseness of the language of so many of the traditional texts, and the lack of absolute consistency, with such rich iconography, amongst images of this type. Other identities proposed for this figure are Gaurī, Maṅgalachaṇḍī and Siddhā.
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