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Formal Analysis: Dancing Siva

This Dancing Siva is a sacred religious statue of the Hindu world that came from ancient Punjai, India. It was made in the 11th century during the high period of the Chola kingdom. The dimensions of the figure are approximately of 10” x 7” x 2”. Like most of the religious objects found in the Chola, the Dancing Siva was made out of bronze. To make the bronze casting the lost-wax process was used and then continued to be reproduced in metal, stone and other material right up to the present times. This Siva figure is portrayed as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance; it stands poised between “unrestrained power” and “perfect equilibrium”. Each part of this bronze image is symbolic - the hands, the circle, the dwarf and much more. As a worshipped image, it is clear that the Siva has been represented as a dancing deity throughout Hindu history.
This bronze statue was made in India a thousand years ago. India is a very ancient land and has over 5,000 years of civilization. Over many centuries, Indian culture has been based on the Hindu religion and way of life. Siva is a Hindu deity, a holy figure in the religion. To explain why Siva takes on a lot of forms in Hindu art you must trace back to origin of Saivism. Saivism a fertility religion that originated in a pre-Aryan, Indus Valley. As it spread, Saivism absorbed the cults of many local gods and goddesses. The gods became different expressions of Siva’s personality. Siva took on the form of Nataraja, the Lord of the Dance, a god from who created all beings in the great dance of the cosmos and said that eventually all beings would return to. The way to reunion with Siva is through the conscious cultivation of the arts.
In this form of the image, Siva is portrayed as a four-armed figure dancing within a ring of fire. Siva head is balanced and his face is calm. His third eye is eye of fire which symbolizes higher perception, extending throughout the past, present...