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Shiva and Parvati (Uma-Maheshvara)
Shiva and Parvati (Uma-Maheshvara)

Shiva and Parvati (Uma-Maheshvara)

CultureIndian
Date9th-early 10th century C.E.
MediumSandstone
DimensionsOverall: 36 × 24 × 7 inches (91.44 × 60.96 × 17.78 cm)
Part (pedestal): 42 × 24 1/2 × 11 inches (106.68 × 62.23 × 27.94 cm)
Credit LineGift in honor of Dr. Satish C. Bansal from Dr. Roopa Bansal
Object number2010.61
On View
On view
Gallery Location
  • 227
Collections
DescriptionThis buff colored sandstone stele sculpture depicts two large, seated figures, the Hindu god Shiva and his wife Uma (Parvati), accompanied by their children Ganesh and Karttikeya, Nandi, the bull vehicle of Shiva, and four attendants. The four-armed figure of Shiva is recognizable from his third eye and matted hair--a sign of an ascetic, although his jewelry reveals his godly status. He holds a knobby fruit in his lower right hand, an attribute often seen in depictions of the universal form of Shiva, Maheshvara. The attribute in Shiva's upper right hand is broken, however in this period in North India, Shiva frequently holds a trident in this hand. Rather unusual is the depiction of a meditation band draped loosely over Shiva's knee, a sign that he is breaking from his nearly constant meditation to spend a moment with his wife. Uma wears royal jewelry and a long skirt with folds cascading between her bent legs. Her broken left hand likely held a small, round mirror. Shiva embraces Uma gently, placing a left hand on her left shoulder, while they gaze intently upon one another. Nandi is depicted seated directly beneath Shiva and Uma's throne. The elephant-headed son Ganesh leans upon a mace to the lower left while Karttikeya sits upon his peacock vehicle to the lower right. The divine couple is also attended by four worshippers. The skeletal figure standing in the lower center of the stele is likely Bringhi, an ancient sage who was fiercely devoted to Shiva. The figures standing behind Ganesh and Karttikeya are the fierce and benevolent Shaivite protectors who frequently appear with the god in stele sculptures and on the jams of Shiva temples. Another male worshipper sits upon a lotus flower on the center left of the stele. This may represent a renowned sage, perhaps associated with the lineage of the temple, or even a patron (note the royal headdress), although the presence of the lotus implies a divine status that a living patron would not have. While the overall condition of the sculpture is good, it does suffer from general surface abrasion and exhibits areas of loss, particularly at the top of the stele, where only a partial halo of Shiva remains intact. There is evidence of white paint in areas of the surface and of calcium deposits which appear to have occurred under natural circumstances.Exhibition History

No additional exhibition history known at this time.

Gallery Label
This tender sculpture is a family portrait of one of the most important gods in the Hindu pantheon. The divine couple, Shiva and his wife Uma (or Parvati), gaze into each other’s eyes. Shiva gently caresses Uma’s shoulder with one of his four hands, and clutches a large fruit to his chest with another. Shiva’s bull, Nandi, sits below them, while their children, Ganesha and Karttikeya, stand to the right and left, respectively. Shiva and Uma are also attended by four ascetic devotees at the bottom, center and sides of the stele. This sculpture was created in the Pratihara Kingdom, which controlled the Gangetic Plain of North India, probably for an exterior niche of a stone temple.
Provenance

Private collection, Southern France, 1970’s-2010;

With Artcurial, Paris, 2010;

Purchased from Artcurial by Carlton Rochell Asian Art, New York, summer 2010;

Purchased from Carlton Rochell by Dr. Roopa Bansal, Leawood, KS, fall 2010; 

Her gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2010.

Published References

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Kimberly Masteller, Masterworks from India and Southeast Asia: the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kanas City, Missouri: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in association with University of Washington Press, 2016), 54-57, (repro.).

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