Rare Show of Ancient Indian Bronzes to Open
From Times Wire Reports
In an exhibit billed as “The Sensuous and the Sacred,” the Smithsonian Institution introduces the public to a Hindu deity called Shiva. Worshiped in southeast India as the Lord of the Dance, Shiva plays a variety of roles in Hinduism -- both destroying the universe and creating it anew.
This is the first time an exhibit devoted to what are called Chola bronzes has been assembled in the United States, said guest curator Vidya Dehejia, professor of art history at Columbia University.
The statues were made by unknown sculptors during the Chola dynasty between AD 850 and 1300.