Collection record · Objects & craft
Monkey General Hanuman
The collection record classifies this work as sculpture. It is dated c. 1000. Recorded culture or place: Southern India, Chola period (900s–1200s).
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A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Monkey General Hanuman
- Date
- c. 1000
- Culture / origin
- Southern India, Chola period (900s–1200s)
- Materials and technique
- bronze
- Dimensions
- height: 58.4 cm (23 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1980.26
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
Hanuman is one of the most popular heroic figures of the epic Ramayana. In the story, he was indispensable in the search for the abducted wife of Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu. He is able to fly through the air and lift mountains, but here he is shown as a humble servant of the god. His gestures signify his humility and he bows slightly in reverence to his master.
Bronzes during the Chola period spanning the 800s to 1200s were solid cast, using the lost-wax method. Each one is unique and would have been kept in the treasury of the temple until the festival day when the presence of the deity is invited to reside in the sculpture, which is then bathed, dressed, and paraded through the streets. This figure would have been paraded with a group of other images depicting Rama, his wife, and his brother.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · John L. Severance Fund · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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