Dancing Shiva is a recurrent theme in traditional Indian art. The Nataraja iconography is hands-down the most popular roopa of Shiva. The one that you see on this page is the urdhvatandava Shiva, captured in the Tanjore idiom. In the shilpashastras, urdhvatandava is the name given to the Thillai iconography of Shiva in Cidambaram, Tamil Nadu.
Every item of adornment on the neck and wrists and ankles of this ashtabhujadhari Shiva is executed in gold-layered gessowork. These metallic embellishments, the purity as well as the finesse of the handiwork, are a hallmark of the authentic Tanjore painting.
In addition to Shiva, this Tanjore painting comprises mutated members of Shivagana, standing on their own pedestals on either side of Apasmara, and Brahma va Vishnu floating about either side of His drum. The monotone, inky blue background brings out the solid gold of the Kirtimukham templeroof, the ornate pillars, and the ashvayali.
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