Queen Sembiyan Mahadevi as the Goddess Uma
date: label: Date
content: 10th century
label: Period
content: Chola dynasty, Reign of Queen Sembiyan Mahadevi
notes: label: Label
content: Chola queen Sembiyan Mahadevi, whose husband reigned 949-57, was widowed at an early age and was a highly respected patron of the arts who devoted most of her life to temple commissions. During her lifetime, special celebrations marked her birthday in the Shiva temple in the town of Sembiyan Mahadevi, named after her, and a metal portrait of the beloved queen was presented to the temple in her honor. It is possible that the image seen here is that very sculpture. Draped in silks, precious jewelry, and flower garlands, this processional figure would have been carried through the town for public viewing.
label: Label
content: This highly stylized image is an instance of the blurring of lines between royal and divine portraiture in ancient Indian art. While the pose is reminiscent of the goddess Parvati, this tall, svelte image with heavy, naturalistically shaped breasts and drapery clinging to her lower limbs is uncommonly individualized in the shape of her face, pursed lips, and long nose. Stylized portrait statues like this were more likely to be identified by their placement in a temple, or their function in specific rituals, than through an actual resemblance to their human counterparts. As such, it would have been recognized as Sembiyan Mahadevi by its use in processions celebrating her birthday.
label: Provenance
content: ?-1929
label: Provenance
content: Hagop Kevorkian, New York, likely purchased in Europe from an unknown source [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1929
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Hagop Kevorkian, New York [2]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962) is best known as a dealer in Islamic art but he also dealt with some Indian sculpture and paintings. Born in Kayseri (present-day Turkey), he began his self-named art business in London by the 1890s and later expanded operations to Paris, with his brother Carnig (alt. Carneg) Kevorkian. He subsequently established a third location in New York after he settled there in 1920.
label: Provenance
content: While the identity of the source from whom Kevorkian purchased this sculpture, the place of transaction or the find-site location are subjects of ongoing research, Vidya Dehejia's research places it in the Kailasanatha Swamy Sivan Temple in Nagapattinam (See The Thief Who Stole My Heart: The Material Life of Sacred Bronzes from Chola India, 855--1280 (2021)). There is no further evidence for a connection with this temple, and the presence of surface encrustation on the object suggests that this sculpture was not in
label: Provenance
content: ritual use at or around the time it appeared on the art market. See reports in the object file.
label: Provenance
content: [2] In a letter addressed to Freer Gallery of Art curator John E. Lodge (1876-1942), dated March 6, 1929, Hagop Kevorkian introduced this sculpture to the museum's attention and mentioned he had it stored in a safety deposit vault in Paris.
label: Provenance
content: In a subsequent letter dated June 11, 1929, Kevorkian reported that the sculpture had arrived in New York from Paris on the ship S.S. Paris and was currently in his possession in New York. See documents in the object file.
label: Provenance
content: See also invoice dated July 19, 1929, issued by Hagop Kevorkian and approved on August 5, 1929, copy in the object file.
label: Provenance
content: Research updated March 14, 2023
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Body Image (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)
label: Exhibition History
content: The Thief Who Stole My Heart: The Material Life of Sacred Bronzes in Chola India ca. 850-1280 (Monday, March 14, 2016 - Monday, January 30, 2017)
label: Exhibition History
content: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas (October 16, 2004 to January 3, 2016)
label: Exhibition History
content: The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India (November 10, 2002 to March 9, 2003)
label: Exhibition History
content: South Asian Sculpture (February 22, 2000 to June 18, 2003)
label: Exhibition History
content: South and South East Asian Art (May 9, 1993 to February 7, 2000)
label: Exhibition History
content: Sculpture of South Asia and the Himalayas (May 4, 1988 to July 9, 2017)
label: Exhibition History
content: The Arts of South Asia (May 13, 1985 to December 2, 1985)
label: Exhibition History
content: The Ramayana (July 18, 1983 to April 15, 1984)
label: Exhibition History
content: Hindu and Buddhist Art (April 1, 1982 to July 18, 1983)
label: Exhibition History
content: Hindu and Buddhist Art (January 28, 1981 to September 24, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: Indian Art (January 1, 1963 to January 28, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Art, Gallery 8 (July 15, 1958 to January 1, 1963)
label: Exhibition History
content: Centennial Exhibition, West Corridor (February 25, 1956 to July 11, 1958)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Painting, 1955 (October 24, 1955 to November 28, 1955)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Paintings and Sculpture (October 2, 1947 to February 25, 1956)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Paintings, Gallery 7 (January 10, 1945 to October 2, 1947)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Paintings, Gallery 4 (May 5, 1933 to January 9, 1945)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Persian Art (March 14, 1931 to May 5, 1933)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, South Asian and Persian Art (March 24, 1930 to March 14, 1931)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962)
place: label: Origin
content: Tamil Nadu state, India
topic: label: Topic
content: casting
label: Topic
content: metal
label: Topic
content: bronze
label: Topic
content: Hinduism
label: Topic
content: Parvati
label: Topic
content: Uma
label: Topic
content: Chola dynasty (850 - 1280)
label: Topic
content: India
label: Topic
content: queen
label: Topic
content: kataka mudra
label: Topic
content: South Asian and Himalayan Art
setName: label: On View
content: West Building (Freer Gallery of Art), Gallery 01: Body Image: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent
label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1929.84
objectType: label: Type
content: Sculpture
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Bronze
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 107.3 x 33.4 x 25.7 cm (42 1/4 x 13 1/8 x 10 1/8 in)