Indian Sculpture at the Cincinnati Art Museum

What a thrill to learn
that this wonderful piece
is from the hard-to-find
Mathura period.

(Chicago has nothing like it)




But it's not one I grew up with,
since it didn't arrive until 1980












I also liked this 11th C.
piece from Rajastan,
which I also think post dated
my time in Cincinnati.

These regional styles
are so different
from one another.

This one seems
more musical.












and for a completely different style,
here's their Shiva Nataraj from Tamil Nadu,
the southeast corner of the peninsula
that is so distinct from the rest.

(I think it's 16th C., but am not sure)





There's something wonderfully different
about Tamil sculpture.

It's less sensual,
but more forceful




Is this the same Nataraj
I saw so often 40 years ago ?

I think so,
but now that I've seen others,
I realize how different it is
from ones that came from the north.

This is one Shiva
who really means business!