Day 113 - Indonesian Parvati and sons



September 26, 2018

Gallery 247 centers on the art of Indonesia during the centuries surrounding the turn of the first millennium C.E. It contains many small statues in bronze and copper alloy, but also jewelry and other objects of gold. (I did not know that gold was mined in Indonesia, or perhaps it was imported.) I particularly like a cup made of silver, decorated at its base with a circlet of gold balls; it is simple but elegant. Many of the objects depict Buddha and Buddhist deities, but I also note ornate halberds and musical instruments, including hand bells and slit gongs. I can almost hear in my mind the music accompanying temple ceremonies.  

Today's object is a carved stone relief, perhaps 8 feet high, from 14th century Java and captioned "Posthumous portrait of a queen as Parvati." Parvati stands on her mount, a bull, and is flanked by her two sons, Ganesha at her right hand, Karttikeya, the god of war and general of the gods,  at her left. 

The caption explains that kings and queens were thought to be of divine origin, to assume corporeal form during their reigns, and to be reunited with the divinities they represented at the moment of their deaths.  (This is so reminiscent of ancient Egyptian beliefs.) The first thing I note about this Parvati is that she is not very beautiful. She looks somber, her eyes cast down. Perhaps that is because the sculptor is, in fact, trying to capture the moment of her passing. She does, however, look very regal, if royalty is associated with an elaborate headdress and an abundance of jewelry; several necklaces, a beaded belt, armbands, bracelets, and anklets. 

Ganesha stands beside her in a yoga pose I don't recognize: right foot pressed against his left thigh or knee, as in the tree asana, but right hand resting on his right knee and his left hand holding a bowl of some kind. Kartikkeya, for his part, is seated and shown as an adult man, with mustache and pot belly. At first I'm surprised that Ganesha is several inches taller than his brother. But then, shouldn't elephants be larger than humans, in the world of Hindu divinities as in real life?

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