Padmavati Shri Devi, Devi Lotus-Lakshmi

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Shri Devi has been celebrated in the poetry of South Indian saints as Padmavati, the lady who bears the lotus. This is the primary hallmark of the pedigree of this sculpture: it has been handpicked from Swamimalai, the home of India's rich bronze tradition. Devi Lakshmi's South Indian iconography is distinct. In addition to Her lotuses-wielding full-figured, full-featured beauty, the channavira is an integral part of Her shringar (the thick necklace whose tip grazes Her midriff) and a breast-band graces Her torso. She stands in the tribhang stance, which means that Her silhouette is jutting out in three places (shoulder, hip, and left ankle). In fact, it is this sensuousness that is the signature of Kongu Nadu sculptures (located in western Tamil Nadu; to be specific, the sculptures are from a region barely west of present-day Coimbatore).

These bronzes are not just about skill. The devotion with which each artisan works on the murti at hand is nothing like other sculptural traditions from around the world. Such streamlined skill, such sanctity of purpose could be made out from each aspect of the standing sculpture. The lifelike lines of Her hands and feet, the yogic musculature of Her powerful form, and the supremely compassionate expression on Her face. The pleats of Her silken dhoti clings to Her legs, and a plethora of sashes float about Her hips. Dense shringar clothes Her torso and arms. The pedestal She is on is a fine example of devotional workmanship of the region - an inverted lotus atop multiple tiers engraved with more lotus petals. Note how unusual Her engraved crown is, resembling the amalaka and shikhara of the quintessential Dravidian temple.