Research Catalog

Title

The thief who stole my heart : the material life of sacred bronzes from Chola India, 855-1280 / Vidya Dehejia.

Author

Dehejia, Vidya

Publication

• Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2021]
• ©2021

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Clarke, Matthew L.
• Little, Nicole C.
• Strahan, Donna K.

Description

xi, 324 pages : illustrations (some color), color maps; 29 cm.

Summary

From the ninth through the thirteenth century, the Chola dynasty of southern India produced thousands of statues of Hindu deities, whose physical perfection was meant to reflect spiritual beauty and divine transcendence. During festivals, these bronze sculptures--including Shiva, referred to in a saintly vision as "the thief who stole my heart"--were adorned with jewels and flowers and paraded through towns as active participants in Chola worship. In this richly illustrated book, leading art historian Vidya Dehejia introduces the bronzes within the full context of Chola history, culture, and religion. In doing so, she brings the bronzes and Chola society to life before our very eyes.Dehejia presents the bronzes as material objects that interacted in meaningful ways with the people and practices of their era. Describing the role of the statues in everyday activities, she reveals not only the importance of the bronzes for the empire, but also little-known facets of Chola life. She considers the source of the copper and jewels used for the deities, proposing that the need for such resources may have influenced the Chola empire's political engagement with Sri Lanka. She also investigates the role of women patrons in bronze commissions and discusses the vast public records, many appearing here in translation for the first time, inscribed on temple walls.From the Cholas' religious customs to their agriculture, politics, and even food, The Thief Who Stole My Heart offers an expansive and complete immersion in a community still accessible to us through its exquisite sacred art.

Series Statement

• The A.W. Mellon lectures in the fine arts ; volume 65
• Bollingen series ; XXXV:65

Uniform Title

• A.W. Mellon lectures in the fine arts ; 65.
• Bollingen series ; 35:65.

Alternative Title

Material life of sacred bronzes from Chola India, 855-1280

Subject

• Sculpture, Chola > India, South
• Bronze sculpture, Indic > India, South
• Hindu sculpture > India, South
• Sensuality in art
• Bronze sculpture, Indic
• Civilization
• Hindu sculpture
• Religion
• Sculpture, Chola
• India, South > Civilization
• India, South > Religion
• South India

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 288-315) and index.

Contents

Gods on parade : sacred forms of copper -- Battling for empire and Shiva as Victor of Three Forts : 855-955 -- Writ in stone : temple walls as inscribed archives -- Portrait of a queen and her patronage of dancing Shiva : 941-1002 -- The Tiruvenkadu Master and ten thousand pearls adorn a bronze : eleventh century -- Chola obsession with Sri Lanka and Hindu bronzes from the island : eleventh century -- The Silk Route of the ocean and temple art in the days of Rajaraja II : twelfth century -- Evolving manifestations of the goddess, the god Vishnu, and the Buddha -- Worship in uncertain times and the secret burial of bronzes : thirteenth century -- Reviewing the Chola achievement a millennium later -- Appendix A : Main rules of the Chola dynasty -- Appendix B : Assemblages of sacred bronzes : inscriptional evidence -- Appendix C : Tenth-century Chola Yoginis in context -- Appendix D : Trace metal analysis on five Chola bronzes / by Matthew L. Clarke, Nicole C. Little, and Donna K. Strahan.

ISBN

• 9780691202594
• 0691202591

LCCN

99989410059

OCLC

• on1201297628
• 1201297628

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries