Manifestations of Shiva

1981·22.2 MB·English

by  Kramrisch, Stella, 1898-1993

mm
THE
MARIAN ANGELL BOYER
AND
FRANCIS BOYER
LIBRARY
MANIFESTATIONS OF SHIVA
,
"ManifestationsofShiva"wasmadepossiblebygrantsfromthe
NationalEndowmentfortheHumanities,aFederalagency;
theAtlanticRichfieldFoundation;
ThePewMemorialTrust;AirIndia;
andtheIndo-U.S.SubcommissiononEducationandCulture
PhiladelphiaMuseumofArt
March29toJune7,1981
KimbellArtMuseum,FortWorth
August1toSeptember27 1981
SeattleArtMuseum
November25,1981 toJanuary31, 1982
LosAngelesCountyMuseumofArt
March23toMay50,1982
MANIFESTATIONS OF
SHIVA
STELLA KRAMRISCH
PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART
1981
COVER
Siva,theSupremeGuru,asLordofMusic
(VinadharaDaksinamurti) (no.85)
The quotations preceding the Introduction are from
The Principal Upanisads, edited and translated by S.
Radhakrishnan (New York, 1953), p. 732 (with au-
thor's emendations); and Love of God, According to
the Saiva Siddhanta, translated by Mariasusai Dhava-
mony(Oxford,1971),p. 151.
Editor: GeorgeH.Marcus
Copyeditor: SherryBabbitt
Designer: JosephB.DelValle
Composition: DeputyCrown,Inc.
Printing: TheFalconPress
LibraryofCongresscatalogcardnumber: 81-80216
Copyright1981bythe
PhiladelphiaMuseumofArt
Box7646,Philadelphia,Pa.19101
Allrightsreserved
Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,stored
ina retrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorby
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, re-
cording, or otherwise, without prior permission, in
writing,ofthePhiladelphiaMuseumofArt.
isbn0-87633-039-:
11
DIRECTORS'PREFACE vi PROCESSIONAL IMAGESAND
ALTARPIECES
LENDERSTOTHEEXHIBITION ix Liiiga 100
FormsofSiva 103
AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
S xi Sivaand Parvati 122
Parvati,ConsortofSiva (DeviasUma) 138
GUIDETOTHEPRONUNCIATION Ganesa,SonofParvati (orSiva) 143
OFSANSKRIT xi Kumara/Karttikeya/Skanda,
SonofSiva 144
INTRODUCTION
xiv Saints 149
Trident 154
MONUAIENTALSCULPTURE Brahma 156
Liiiga 2
TheFaceofSiva (FragmentsofImages) 14 PAINTINGS
AndrogynyandBiunitv 18 Introduction 158
TheSupremeGuru 22 Liiiga 160
TheBullNandin 26 AndrogynyandBiunitv 162
Bhairava,GodofDreadandTerror 3 FormsofSiva 170
Bhiksatana,TheSupremeBeggar 40 SivaDances 182
TheLordofDancers 43 SivaandParvati 187
TheDestroyerofDemons 46 TheHolyFamily 198
Siva'sCooperatingAntagonists 54 DescentoftheHolyFamily
SivawithParvati 56 fromMountKailasa 205
Sivaandthe.Mothers 68 SivaandtheGoddess 21o
Ganesa,SonofParvati (orSiva) 74 SivaBornasanAvatar 220
Kumara/Karttikeya/Skanda,SonofSiva 79 Pilgrimage,Temple,andSymbol 222
SivaBornasanAvatar 82 Ascetics,Monks,and Meditation 227
Siva'sHost 84 MelodyTypes 234
Saint 9
TheGoddess 93 BIBLIOGRAPHY 238
DIRECTORS' PREFACE
Thisexhibition,"ManifestationsofShiva,"isplannedasatributetoIndia,toitslongciviliza-
tion, and to its religions, by focusing upon a major Hindu god, Shiva, who as Lord of the
Danceisthegodofcreativity.Shivaisineffable,infinite, and eternal,but does reveal himselfto
maninanextraordinaryvarietyofconcretemanifestationsinthesculptureandpaintingofover
twothousandyearstowhichtheexhibitionisdedicated.Wehopeitwillbringallofuscloserto
understandingthereligiousandintellectuallifeofIndia.
TheconceptoftheexhibitionhasbeenthatofStellaKramrisch,CuratorofIndianArtatthe
PhiladelphiaMuseumofArt.Shehasalsobeenresponsiblefortherealizationoftheexhibitionin
theselectionoftheworks,theirinstallation,andthe writingofthiscatalogue. Shehasevenen-
couragedthe filmmaker, Malcolm Leigh, throughoutthe evolutionofthe film Manifestations
ofShiva,andguidedaformerstudent,JosephM. Dye, inhiswritingofasupplementalpublica-
tionfortheexhibition, WaystoShiva.HerexplorationofthemeaningofShivaandthedevelop-
mentofthatmeaningovertimehasledhertoanexaminationofsourcesforthemythsofthegod
inamajorvolume,ThePresenceofSiva,whichPrincetonUniversityPressispublishingincon-
junctionwiththeexhibition.Thebook,theexhibition,andthiscatalogueshouldbeasimportant
fortheircontributionstotheknowledgeofIndianartastheformidablelistofDr. KramriscIVs
otherpublications,whichincludeherrenownedstudyTheHinduTemple.
Everyexhibitionbyitsnaturemustbecollaborative,but"ManifestationsofShiva"hasbeen
unusualintheextentofitscollaborations. Particularly gratifyinghas been the cooperation of
officialsoftheGovernmentofIndiaanditsmuseums, undoubtedlyencouragedby theirrespect
for Dr. Kramrischasascholarandtheirknowledge of her as a friend who had taught atthe
UniversityofCalcuttafortwenty-eightyears.Underanycircumstances,theygenerouslymade
itpossibleforustoborrowtwenty-twoworksofsculptureandthreepaintingsfromoneprivate
collector, eleven museums, and two archaeological sites throughout India. Among those who
shouldbethankedinparticular,inadditiontothelenders,areShriMirNasrullahandDr.Kapila
YatsyayanfromtheMinistryofEducation,andDr. N. R. Banerjee, until recently Directorof
theNationalMuseuminNewDelhi,whichcoordinatedtheshippingofthe loansfromIndia.In
addition,Dr.L.P.Sihare,DirectoroftheNationalGalleryofModernArt,andhisDeputy,Dr.
AnisFarooqi, mustbe acknowledged fortheir graciousness in receivingthe exchange exhibi-
tion, "ModernMasterpiecesfrom the PhiladelphiaMuseumofArt,"whichwasshowninNew
DelhifromOctobertoDecember 1980.Anotheragency ofthe Indian government, Air India,
hasmademanygenerouscontributionstowardboth"(ManifestationsofShiva"andtheexchange
exhibitioninNewDelhi.
Much of what has been achieved in the negotiations with India has been accomplished
throughtheIndo-U.S.Subcommission onEducationandCultureand,inparticular,throughits
Museum Committee. The Indian Co-Chairman of that committee until recently, Shri Ram
VI
NiwasMirdha,andtheAmericanCo-Chairman, Dr. CharlesBlir/.er, have nor only enthusiasti-
callysupportedtheideaoftheexhibitionbuthavealsoworked faithfullytowardits realization.
Inaddition,theSubcommissionhasunderwritten,throughthesupportoftheSmithsonian Insti-
tution Special Foreign Currency Program, many of the costs of the exhibition and of the
relatedfilm.
Thefourparticipatingmuseumshavealsocollaboratedinthepresentationoftheexhibition,a
collaboration enthusiastically endorsed by their relatively new directors. Not long before his
death, the late Richard F. Brown, Director ofthe Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth and a
memberoftheMuseumCommitteeoftheIndo-U.S. Subcommission, asked thatthe exhibition
go to Fort Worth. Since then David Robb, the Kimbell Museum's Chief Curator, and Dr.
EdmundPPillsbury,recentlyappointedDirector,havegiventheexhibitiontheirsupport.When
itwasdecidedthat"ManifestationsofShiva" wouldgototheLosAngelesCounty Museum of
Art,its distinguished Curatorof IndianArt, Dr. PratapadityaPal,wasActingDirector. Since
hisappointmentinearly 1980,thenewDirector,Dr.EarlA.Powell,III,hasgiveniteveryen-
couragement. Philadelphia was the birthplace of the exhibition from the time Dr. Evan H.
Turner,nowDirectoroftheAcklandArtMuseumandamemberoftheIndo-U.S.Subcommis-
sion Museum Committee,asDirectorofthePhiladelphia Museum ofArtgave Dr. Kramrisch
themoralsupportto worktoward "Manifestations of Shiva." Dr. Jean Sutherland Boggs, an-
othermemberoftheIndo-U.S.Subcommission MuseumCommittee,assumedresponsibilityfor
theexhibitionwhenshebecameDirectorinearly 1979.Finally,ArnoldJollesonbecomingDi-
rectoroftheSeattleArtMuseumwith itsfamouscollectionofFarEastern artessentially took
the exhibition with him. He had been ActingDirectorofthePhiladelphiaMuseum ofArtbe-
tweenDr.TurnerandDr. BoggsandhadworkedcloselywithDr.Kramrischontheexhibition
and had attended meetings of the Museum CommitteeoftheIndo-U.S. Subcommission. The
SeattleArtMuseum'sCuratorofFarEasternArt,HenryTrubner,hadearlyexpressedaninter-
estinthe exhibition. Now the fourmuseumsand the fournewdirectorsjoin in our thanksto
seventy-fourgenerouslenderswhohavemadethisexhibitionpossible.
The lenders are the mostselfless ofcollaborators,givingoftheirtreasures foralmost ayear
andahalfsothattheywillbeenjoyedinfourdifferentsitesin America. The works are being
—
sentfromsuchdiverse placesasAustralia,GwaliorinIndia,Zurich,Ottawa,andBuffalo and
alwayswithsuchextraordinarygrace.Amongthelendersarethegreatestprivateandpubliccol-
lectorsofthefinestIndianart.We areallintheirdebt.Theirnames are foundonpage ix.
InPhiladelphia,wehavebeenveryheartenedbythereadinessofotherculturalinstitutionsto
collaborateonaprogramaround"ManifestationsofShiva."TheUniversityofPennsylvaniahas
mountedascholarlysymposium,theFreeLibraryisshowingitsIndianminiatures,thePhiladel-
phiaZooisfocusinguponitsIndiananimals,thePleaseTouchMuseumhascreatedaspecialex-
hibition for children, and the Franklin Institute is sponsoring a special planetarium program
basedontheJantarMantarobservatoryinJaipur. AllofthismakesIndiaseemmorefamiliarto
thosewhocometotheexhibition.
In coordinating the exhibition in Philadelphia, the collaboration ofthestaffofthe Museum
hasbeenessential. Amongthemostinvoked and responsible havebeenBarbara Phillipsas Co-
ordinatorofExhibitions,GeorgeMarcus,SherryBabbitt, andBerniceConnollyinPublications,
FernandeRossasRegistrar, MarigeneButlerasHeadoftheConservationLaboratoryandAn-
drewLinsasConservatorofObjects,MarjorieSiegerassignedtotheprojectfrom theDivision
of Education, Tara Robinson as Head of Installations, and Melanie Rodenassecretary toDr.
Kramrisch. Anne McPhail, a volunteer, trained the guides. In addition, Eva Ray, who has
vn
writtentheexhibitionguide, washiredfortheexhibition asanAssistantCurator.SheilaCanby
servedasCoordinatorofPrograms,andElizabethJohnson,aformerassistantofDr.Kramrisch,
returned to work on condition reports. All worked professionally and enthusiastically to
bring "Manifestations of Shiva" into being. Theexhibition was given additional support by
JosephDelValle,thedesignerof WaystoShiva and this publication, and Richard Meyer, the
architectwhohasdesignedtheexhibition installation.FromthiscenterinPhiladelphia,thestaff
workedwiththeircounterpartsinFortWorth,Seattle,andLosAngeles,inparticularwithRuth
Sullivan at the Kimbell Art .Museum, Arnold Jolles at the Seattle Art Museum, and Myrna
SmootattheLosAngelesCountyMuseumofArt.Fromsuchcollaboration,forwhichBarbara
PhillipswasresponsibleinPhiladelphia,theexhibitionarose.
Thereweremanyoutsidethefourparticipatingmuseumswhocontributedgenerouslytothe
exhibition. The Department ofIndianArtismuch indebted toDr. Carol Radcliff Bolon, Dr.
DavidDell,Dr. Susan Oleksiw,RonaldOtsuka, Dr. Harold Powers, Dr. M. S. Nagaraja Rao,
ElizabethRosen,Dr.GaryTartakov,andDr.ClausVirchforhelpinvariousformsduringthe
organization of the exhibition. We should like to offerour thanks to these and manv others.
Anotheressentialformofcollaboration,ortoexpressitmoreaccuratelv,support,came from
thosewho,inadditiontoAirIndiaandtheIndo-LT.S.SubcommissiononEducationandCulture
alreadymentioned,gavegenerousgrantstotheexhibition.ThelargestcamefromtheNational
EndowmentfortheHumanities,whichwasencouragingrecognitionoftheconceptofthetotal
enterprise.The PewMemorialTrust, as partofitscontinuingsupportofthePhiladelphia Mu-
seum'sexhibitions,notonlvunderwrotetheinitialplanningfortheexhibition,butalsoawarded
an additionalgrantthe following vear. The needforsubstantialfundingin theearlystagesof
theexhibitionwasrecognizedbytheAtlanticRichfield Foundation, which has since increased
itsinitialgift. Itisdifficultforthefourmuseumstoexpress ourgratitude to these donorssuffi-
cientlyeloquently.
We
hope,finally,that theexhibition, asa result of such generosity, supportiveness, enthu-
siasm, and theintelligence ofStella Kramrisch,willbeaconvincingreflectionofthecharacter
ofthegodShivaasacreativeforceinIndianlife.
EdmundP.Pillsbury,Director
KimbellArtMuseum
EarlA.Powell,III,Director
LosAngelesCountvMuseumofArt
JeanSutherlandBoggs,Director
PhiladelphiaMuseumofArt
ArnoldJolles,Director
SeattleArtMuseum
\in