Marriage of God Shiva with Goddess Parvati (Kalyanasundara)

CC0 Public Domain Designation

c. 11th century

India
Madhya Pradesh, Morena District

This sculpture depicts the divine marriage of Parvati and Shiva, which was witnessed by all the gods after she devoted many years to ascetic practices (yoga) in order to persuade him to marry her. Shiva formally accepts the bride by taking her right hand in his (panigrahana). He gazes upon Parvati while she looks into a handheld mirror. Brahma, the creator god, can be seen officiating.

Status: On View, Gallery 141
Department: Arts of Asia

Title: Marriage of God Shiva with Goddess Parvati (Kalyanasundara)
Place: Madhya Pradesh (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1001–1100
Medium: Sandstone
Dimensions: 77.7 × 53.7 × 18 cm (30 5/8 × 21 1/8 × 7 1/16 in.)
Credit Line: James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection. Gift of Marilynn Alsdorf
Reference Number: 2022.4
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/148385/manifest.json

Pratapaditya Pal with contributions by Stephen Little, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago in association with Thames and Hudson, 1997), 22 (ill.), 275, cat. 16.

Art Institute of Chicago, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Aug. 2–Oct. 26, 1997, cat. 16.
Memphis, TN, The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Realm of the Gods: Masterpieces of Indian Sculpture from The Art Institute of Chicago and The Alsdorf Collection, Apr. 30–July 23, 2000, no cat. no.

John D. Rockefeller III (died 1978), New York [this and the following according to invoice, May 6, 1981; copy in curatorial object file]. With Doris Wiener (died 2011), New York, by May 6, 1981; sold to James W. Alsdorf (1913–1990) and Marilynn B. Alsdorf (1925–2019), Winnetka and Chicago, IL, May 6, 1981; by descent to Marilynn B. Alsdorf, Chicago, 1990 [on long-term loan at the Art Institute of Chicago, Sept. 17, 1997; publicly promised as a gift to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1997; signed a promised gift agreement for the work, 2002]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2021.

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Marriage of God Shiva with Goddess Parvati (Kalyanasundara)

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.