Dancing Balakrishna

Place CreatedTamil Nadu, India, Asia

CultureIndia, Tamil Nadu

PeriodLater Chola

Datelate 11th-late 13th Century

MediumBronze

Credit LineThe Ester R. Portnow Collection of Asian Art, a gift of the Nathan Rubin-Ida Ladd Family Foundation

Dimensions18 1/4 x 7 3/4 x 6 in. (46.3 x 19.7 x 15.3 cm)

Object number2001.001.003

Label TextBalakrishna, child Krishna, dances gracefully, his leg raised in diagonal balance with his outstretched arm. His right hand is raised in the position of abhaya mudra, a gesture that dispels fear. He wears a royal headdress and a wheel-shaped hair ornament on the back of his head. He is auspiciously adorned with shoulder ornaments, toe and finger rings, and anklets. The tiny marking on his right chest is the shrivatsa indicating the eternal abode of the goddess Lakshmi, consort of Vishnu – of whom Krishna is one form.

The sculpture is an example of the bronzes of the Chola Dynasty of South India that are known for their attention to the human form and portrayal of the dynamic bodily movements. The round holes in the base of the sculpture allowed it to be attached to a palanquin or cart during temple processions. In such ritual contexts, the image would be dressed in silks, ornaments, and flowers.
Exhibition HistoryIndische Kunst, Wurtembergischer Kunstuerein, Stuttgart, Germany, January 20 - March 13, 1966 (by repute)
Indische Kunst, Museum fur Kunst und Geouerbe, Hamburg, Germany, May 18 - July 31, 1966 (by repute)
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2004 - April 4, 2021
The Avatars of Vishnu, Michael C. Carlos Museum, April 24 - July 18, 2021
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, August 28, 2021 - Present
Published ReferencesSotheby's New York, Indian and Southeast Asian Art (September 22, 2000), lot 148.
MCCM Newsletter, December 2000 - February 2001.
Michael C. Carlos Museum: Highlights of the Collections (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2011), 126.

ProvenanceSaid to be ex coll. Dr. Josef R. Belmont (1886-1981), Basel, Switzerland. Purchased for MCCM by Robert Walzer [Nathan Rubin - Ida Ladd Family Foundation], Georgetown, Connecticut, from Sotheby's New York, Sale 7510, September 22, 2000, lot 148.

Status

On view

Collections