Day 111 - Shiva-Parvati


December 17, 2018

Gallery 245 contains stone and bronze sculptures made during the pre-Angkor period (from the fifth through the eighth centuries) in the Mekong Delta and peninsular Thailand. A linga, along with large-breasted figures of Durga, show the Indian influence, but many  faces strike me as quite different from those I've seen on Indian statuary. They're charactrized by rounded cheeks, full lips, and flattened noses; indeed, some look almost Negroid in appearance. I'm taken by a small statue of Ganesha, whose hyper-realistic elephant head tops a chubby human body.

Today's  work speaks to the fluid nature of gender in Hindu cosmology. Made of bronze in 7th-8th century Cambodia and 36 inches or so in height, it portrays Ardhanarishvara, a composite of Shiva and Parvati. The left-hand side of the statue shows Shiva, identifiable by his third eye; a slightly raised area above his upper lip denotes a mustache. Parvati, on the right,  is, of course, missing the mustache. Her high, rounded breast is exposed, and she wears a long skirt.

Givn the attention now being paid to trans people, it is interesting to see the artistic representation of a concept of divinity  that encompasses male and female physical attributes, and presumably psychological attributes as well. A quick look at Wikipedia tells me that many Shiva temples in India today contain Arhanarishvara figures.

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