Nataraja and Chola Bronzes, Art & Technology
Channel: National Institute of Advanced Studies
Date: 28/10/2022

Illustrated lecture by Prof. Sharada Srinivasan, Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, IISc Campus, Bengaluru, International Honorary Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (given for India International Centre online lectures in Feb 2021)
Abstract:
Early medieval Chola statuary bronzes from Tamil Nadu represent a remarkable synthesis of art and technology, evoking aspects of devotional poetry, dance and philosophy. The talk sketches approaches in technical art history in exploring the stylistic and provenance attributions of south Indian bronzes over different periods (from the author’s archaeometallurgical researches over the past three decades). The legacy of image casting in Thanjavur district and the insights into the background of mining, metallurgy, wider cultural interactions and exchanges are touched upon.  The implications for the artistic trajectory of the celebrated Nataraja icon, often described as the ‘Cosmic Dance of Siva’, are explored; as well as the questions of the icon’s intriguing appeal to scientific sensibilities and probable celestial inspiration in ritual or iconographic aspects.