Some might fear that the art here is so foreign, so outside their experience, that they won’t be able to relate to it. But fear not, just seek out Ganesh, the elephant-headed god - a plump jolly child who brings out the same cross-cultural reaction as a fluffy kitten. You really can’t but smile at Ganesh.
And there are reminders that this was a multi-religious society. The same workshops that made the spectacular Shivas also made images of the Buddha and the Jina, as both religions flourished in South India at the same time.
In addition to the statues of the gods and their companions, such as Shiva’s bull Nandi, shown here in fine anatomical precision, mid head-toss, the artists could also let their talents loose on the images of the 63 wandering nayanmar (“saints”) of Shiva, whose images were usually found around the temple sanctum.
The most striking image here is of one of the three female saints, Karaikkal Ammaiyar, who as a young woman (she lived in coastal town of Karaikkal in the 6th century) asked Shiva to take away her beauty so she could devote herself to his worship. She is represented here as a stunning little bronze hunchback, gaunt so her ribs show and with the pendulous breast of an old woman. But innocent, joyous, youthful faith shines from her face, and she has the lithe limbs of an adolescent. (Handy, perhaps, for a wandering saint.)
It was perhaps inspired by one of her poems, which is reproduced in the catalogue:
Sagging breasts and swollen veins.
Protruding eyes. Bare white teeth and shrunken belly.
Reddened hair and pointed teeth,
Skeletal legs and knobbly knees
Has this female ghoul
It is an unforgettable image, like several others here.
The exhibition continues until February 25. With online booking. There’s a fine online gallery of similar bronzes here and a description of the method of production.
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