Recumbent bull

anonymous, c. 1000 - c. 1200

All the gods in the Hindu pantheon have animal mounts that share character traits with their riders. Shiva’s mount is a bull, the symbol of power and virility. This bull is richly decked out as befits an animal ridden by a deity. It was probably positioned in a small pavilion facing the main temple, with its head pointing towards the deity.

  • Artwork typefigure, sculpture
  • Object numberAK-MAK-520
  • Dimensionsheight 63 cm x width 64 cm x depth 29 cm x weight 140 kg, width 63 cm x depth 30 cm
  • Physical characteristicssandstone

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Recumbent bull

  • Object type

  • Object number

    AK-MAK-520

  • Description

    Liggende stier, uitgevoerd in grijze zandsteen.

Creation

  • Creation

    anonymous, Tamil Nadu

  • Dating

    c. 1000 - c. 1200

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  • School / Style

Material and technique

  • Physical description

    sandstone

  • Dimensions

    • height 63 cm x width 64 cm x depth 29 cm x weight 140 kg
    • width 63 cm x depth 30 cm

This work is about

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    On loan from the Royal Asian Art Society in The Netherlands (Verburgt-Kramers bequest, 1969)

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …; collection Demotte, Paris, before 1921;{Note RMA.}…; collection of Gerrit-Jan Verburgt (1871-1926), The Hague, 1926;{Note RMA.} his widow Carolina Geertruida Verburgt-Kramers (1876-1968), The Hague, by whom bequeathed to the Vereniging van Vrienden der Aziatische Kunst, 1969;{Note RMA.} from whom on loan to the museum, 1972

Documentation

    • P. Thomas, Epics, myths and legends of India, Bombay, pl. 18, nr. 56.
    • Margot Marsman, 'Een liggende stier', Aziatische Kunst 34/3 (2004), pp. 39-41.
    • M.A. Dhaky, 'The Nandi-images of Tamil Nadu and Kannadanadu', Artibus Asiae XXXIV (1972), p. 183-200.
    • P. Lunsingh Scheurleer, 'De stier van Shiva uit het Legaat Verburgt', Aziatische Kunst 20 (1990), nr. 4. p. 4-5.
    • O.C. Gangoly, 'On some Hindu relics in Borneo', Journal of the Greater lind. Soc., vol. III (1936), p. 97-103, afb. B, pl. IX.
    • D. Goodall, The Pancavaranastava of Aghorasivacarya, Pondicherry 2005, p. 101.
    • G. Bhattadranya, Nandin and Vrsabha, in Z.D.M.G. Supplement III 2, 1977.

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  • Recumbent bull
  • Recumbent bull
  • Recumbent bull