An Example and you can use this too!

! Your notes to turn in can be in bullet format we will turn them into an essay format in class.
SHIVA AS NATARAJA Non Western (Lord of the Dance) c. 990 Bronze Context History: The Chola period dates from 846-1173 and is centered in the southern part of contemporary India. The most renowned period of South Indian history is the 11th Century when two great emperors, father and son, were responsible for making the Chola empire into the dominant political force in India. Monumental stone temples, adorned with carvings and paintings were commissioned as well as bronze statue of deities. The philosophical concept behind the visualization of Siva as Lord of the Dance, dancing to destroy and yet re-create the world, was formulated by the end of the 9th Century and further developed and were at the height of popularity in the 10th Century (both bronze and stone) Context Ideas: One branch of Hindu practice dominated the Chola period and its artists the Bhakti, or devotional, movement of Hinduism. The Bhakti devotional movement was based on ideas expressed in ancient texts, especially the Bhagavad Gita. Bhakti revolves around the ideal relationship between humans and deities. According to Bhakti, it is the gods who created maya, or illusion, in which we are all trapped. They also reveal truth to those who truly love them and to whose minds are open to them. Rather than focusing on ritual and the performance of dharma according to the Vedas, Bhakti stresses an intimate, personal, and loving relationship with god, and the complete devotion and giving up of oneself to god. Iconography: Siva is dancing the dance of bliss a dance of cosmic proportions- signifying the cycle of death and rebirth of the universe. It is also a dance for the individual, signifying the liberation of the believer through Shivas compassion. Within a flaming nimbus, Shiva on one foot gracefully stands on the Demon of Ignorance, a dwarf figure signifying becoming and whom Shiva controls. One of four arms gracefully gesture while holding a flame(fire), signifying the destruction of Samsara and the physical universe and well as maya and our ego-centered concepts. In another hand, Shiva holds a drum, symbolizing the irrevocable rhythms of creation and destruction, birth and death. The front arm gestures the have no fear mudra, while the other gracefully stretches across with hand pointing to the raised foot, signifying the promise of liberation. Function:

Bronze such as this were originally created solely as icons of worship to be carried ceremonially through the temple and the adjoining areas of a town. The lugs and holes on the base were to ensure that a pole could be inserted through them to facilitate their transportation of the shoulders of bearers. Bronzes were anointed with sandal wood paste and bathed in water from the sacred River Kaveri, then draped with special dyed cloth and adorned with garlands. They were then carried in processions with canopies held over them, and they received offering of food, incense and lamps. Within the temple precincts, watchmen were appointed to guard them. The practice of clothing, garlanding and ornamenting bronze was a continuation of a custom more than 1000 years ole. To see them now unadorned in a museum is not how they would be seen in their original religious context.