← Explore on the interactive map

Chola Bronze Sculptures

Type Object Region South Asia Time 801–1201

Chola bronze sculptures are Hindu deity statues cast by the lost-wax method in South India's Chola dynasty from the 9th to 13th centuries, especially…

Timeline

  1. 801–901South Indian temple workshops · South IndiaSouth India's hereditary 'sthapati' artisan system matured, combining lost-wax bronze casting with Hindu iconographic standards, laying the technical and ritual foundation for large-scale Chola-era image production.
  2. 1001Thanjavur–Gangaikonda · Tamil NaduRajaraja I and his successors vigorously sponsored temples, and masterpieces such as bronze Nataraja images appeared frequently around the 1020s; the images, as temple property and sacred objects, participated in processions and worship, with artistic standards reaching their peak.
  3. 1101–1201South India and Sri Lanka · South AsiaChola bronze style influenced the Pandyas, later kingdoms, and Sri Lanka's Buddhist bronze tradition; despite political changes, lost-wax temple images remained exemplars of South Asian religious art and survive to this day.

Sources