Insert logos, from left to right: NEH, NYSCA, NYCULTURE – same as on Pakistan
Exhibition Cocurators:
Adrian Proser, John H. Foster Curator for Traditional Asian Art, Asia Society
Jacqueline Ganem, Asia Society Museum Getty Fellow
Asia Society Museum Staff
Melissa Chiu, Museum Director and Vice President, Global Art Programs
Marion Kocot, Associate Director
Elizabeth Bell, Museum Associate
Nancy Blume, Head of Museum Education Programs
Jacqueline Ganem, Asia Society Museum Getty Fellow
Clare McGowan, Collections Manager and Registrar
Hannah Pritchard, Executive Assistant
Davis Thompson-Moss, Installation Manager
Daisy Yiyou Wang, Asia Society Museum Getty Fellow
Web Site Production Credits
Catherine Colman, Senior Technical Producer
Megan MacMurray, Web Developer
3D imaging by Synthescape Art Imaging

Dates: October 6, 2009–February 7, 2010

Hours: Tuesday–Sunday, 11:00 am–6:00 pm, with extended evening hours Fridays until 9:00 pm (except July 4 through Labor Day). Closed on Mondays and major holidays.

Location: Asia Society Museum, 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), New York, NY

Cost: $10; $7 for seniors and $5 for students with ID; free for members and persons under 16. Admission is free to all Friday 6:00 pm–9:00 pm (free Fridays suspended July 4 through Labor Day).

This exhibition considers these extraordinary objects in relation to the Hindu tradition of devotion, or bhakti, which emphasizes intense and intimate devotion to a personal god. While bhakti takes different regional forms throughout India, the earliest bhakti movements arose in the southern region of the Indian subcontinent and were manifested in temple bronzes and Tamil poetry of the bhakti saints. The rise of vernacular devotional movements served as an alternative to the ritualized approach of temple priests. The ruling Chola elites, who were mainly followers of Shiva, drew upon this popular piety in their patronage of temple bronzes, partly to legitimize their dynastic power and social prestige. The depiction of poet-saints—who lived prior to Chola rule, between the sixth and ninth centuries—in numerous bronzes reflects the importance of these itinerant poets in promoting bhakti, which in turn affected the growth of Hindu temples among communities of devotees.

The meaning and function of these sacred bronzes in bhakti involve a number of important ritual concepts, including, in Sanskrit: utsavas (festivals), puja (worship), darshana (seeing [god]), abhisheka (anointment), alamkara (embellishment), and avatara (divine descent). The exhibition is arranged by religious concept, rather than chronology to provide social and cultural context for these extraordinary sculptures and to reflect principal ideas and sculptural groupings found at south Indian temple sites. The exhibition presents the entire stunning collection of Chola bronzes from Asia Society’s Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, considered to include some of the best bronzes in the world, along with select bronzes from significant private collections. The Chola period masterpieces are displayed along with contemporary photographs of similar bronzes in procession and worship in Tamil Nadu; this interplay of image and processional rites was an important aspect of faith in Chola south India, as well as in the lives of Hindus today.

Adriana Proser, John H. Foster Curator for Traditional Asian Art, Asia Society
Jacqueline Ganem, Asia Society Museum Getty Fellow

For more information on Asia Society’s Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, these titles are available at AsiaStore:

Treasures of Asian Art: The Asia Society’s Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection
A Passion for Asia: The Rockefeller Legacy

We have the good fortune of singing our Lord
to our hearts’ content,
of repulsing the shameless Jain monks.
The king of immortals,
the Lord who graciously rules us,
S[h]iva, the god of gods who rose as the flame
which Ayan [Brahma] and Mal [Vishnu] could not know,
dwells in my heart.
If Death himself were to declare
his dominion over us and command us to serve him,
we would refuse,
for the Lord’s eight attributes are ours.¹

Nevertheless, the Buddhist and Jain faiths maintained a presence throughout the Chola period, as is evidenced in a number of surviving processional bronzes reflective of these faiths. Although the Chola rulers were mostly devout followers of the Shaiva faith, there is evidence, for instance, of female royal patronage of Jain shrines under the reign of emperor Rajaraja Chola (985–1014). Buddhist artistic activity at the coastal town of Nagapattinam prevailed, particularly in the eleventh century, largely due to growing diplomatic relations between the Chola rulers and the Javanese kingdom of Southeast Asia.

Buddhist and Jain religious institutions in Chola period south India received from their followers a range of processional bronze images of deities, suggesting that great annual festivals were equally vital in these faith communities. Two sculptures in this gallery, a Jain Tirthankara and a Buddha, exemplify the creative encounters between these communities. These bronzes emphasize an ascetic simplicity in articulating their respective deities. They bear similarities to Hindu images in their scale and sensuous modeling, which suggests that the same artisan workshops produced bronzes for various faith communities.

Jina
Chola period, late 11th–12th century
Copper alloy and gold appliqué
H. 22 x W. 7 x D. 7 in. (55.9 x 17.8 x 17.8 cm)
Kapoor Galleries, Inc.

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This sculpture depicts one of the twenty-four Jinas (Victors) or Tirthankaras (Ford-Makers) in the Jain belief system. It was likely once set into a pedestal base and carried as a procession image. Despite an emphasis on ascetic simplicity that is comparable to the Buddha nearby, it displays the sensuous forms typical of Chola period bronzes. As is evident from the figure’s nakedness, this image reflects devotional practices of the Digambara (Sky-clad) sect. The triangular gold mark on the upper right of his chest likely distinguishes this Tirthankara from others; however, it is not possible to identify this figure without further information. As is characteristic, the Tirthankara stands stiffly erect with downward stretching hands in a posture of penance. The elongated earlobes, arms, and fingers signify his spiritual advancement.

Buddha
Chola period, ca. 1070–1120
Copper alloy
H. 27 1/4 x W. 9 1/2 x D. 9 1/2 in. (69.2 x 24.1 x 24.1 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.15

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Despite the strong sectarian rhetoric of early Shaiva saints, the port town of Nagapattinam was a center of Buddhism that flourished under the Chola rulers. This bronze standing figure portrays the historical Buddha. Buddhists also call him Tathagata, or Thus-Gone One, a reference to his status as a being who has arrived at perfect knowledge. Similar to the Jain Tirthankara, or Ford-Maker, the meaning of Tathagata suggests a crossing as the way to spiritual attainment. The style of this figure exemplifies Nagapattinam bronzes. The inscription on its pedestal identifies it as a processional image created for a sacred festival, or tiru-utsavam, commissioned by a guild of metal-workers. While the presence of an inscription contrasts with Chola Hindu practice, the stylistic similarities of this Buddha with the Hindu deities in this exhibition indicate that guilds of metalworkers produced images for various faith communities.

The idea of an image embodying the descending deity is especially prominent in Vaishnava philosophy. Vishnu periodically assumes an avatara when he descends to earth and intercedes for the benefit of humankind. The ten avataras of Vishnu are identified in most traditions as Matsya (fish); Kurma (tortoise); Varaha (boar); Narasimha (manlion); Vamana (dwarf); Parashurama (axe-wielding Brahmin); Rama; Krishna; the Buddha; and Kalki (the avatara yet to come). As is evident in surviving Chola bronzes and literary sources, two of the most popular avataras during the Chola period were Krishna and Rama. Chola artists focused on Vishnu’s role as the defender of dharma (order), for example as he battles the serpent Kaliya at the River Yamuna. Similarly, Chola artists sought to capture in bronze the hero Rama who mightily defeats the demon army of Lanka and reestablishes the kingdom of Ayodhya in the ancient epic, the Ramayana. The avataras Krishna and Rama not only captivated the Chola artists but also the Vaishnava poet-saints, as is evident in this hymn by Saint Nammalvar, who praises Rama as the highest manifestation of the divine:

Why would anyone want
to learn anything but Rama?

Beginning with the low grass
and the creeping ant
with nothing
whatever,

he took everything in his city,
everything moving,
everything still,
he took everything,
everything born
of the lord
of four faces,

he took them all
to the very best of states.¹

Rama
Chola period, 11th century
Copper alloy
H. 37 3/4 x W. 17 1/2 x D. 9 1/2 in. (95.9 x 44.5 x 24.1 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.23

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Sculptures of Vishnu’s avatara Rama were commissioned for Vaishnava temples to form part of an assemblage that included his wife Sita, his brother Lakshmana, and the monkey general Hanuman. Rama, shown in the tribhanga, or triple-bend, posture, is ornamented with jewels, a halo-wheel, and a high crown that would have made him the tallest figure of this group. A bow was once held in his raised left hand and an arrow or arrows in his right. These attributes are associated with the imperial hunt and reflect the heroism of Rama, the protagonist of the popular Indian epic the Ramayana.

Krishna Dancing on Kaliya (Kaliyahimarddaka Krishna)
Chola period, late 10th–early 11th century
Copper alloy
H. 34 1/2 x W. 16 x D. 11 in. (87.6 x 40.6 x 27.9 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.22

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Vishnu’s manifestation as Krishna is often portrayed as a dancing heroic youth and is undoubtedly the prototype for the dancing form of Saint Sambandar. This masterful solid bronze sculpture captures Krishna’s moment of triumph over the serpent-demon Kaliya, who lived in the River Yamuna and terrorized the nearby communities. A Tamil hymn relates how Krishna dives from “the flowering blue katampa oak” into the water and dances on captive Kaliya as the gopi-handmaidens tremble. In this sculpture, Krishna is depicted as a bejeweled prince. He displays the gesture of protection with his right hand, while his upraised left hand (reminiscent of Rama’s nearby) holds Kaliya’s serpentine tail. Though the flat base of this sculpture is now damaged, it was most likely set into a lotus-shaped pedestal, characteristic of Chola period bronzes, for use in processions.

Vishnu
Chola period, 11th century
Copper alloy
H. 7 1/4 in. (18.5 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Gift from The Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, 1994.3

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The small scale of this bronze and the lower quality of its casting suggest that it was used in household devotion—a rising practice during the Chola period that created a demand for portable metal images. Both the presence of an inscription and the articulation of this form of Vishnu—shown with sixteen arms in a walking posture on foot-size lotuses and fully framed by a flaming wheel—are unusual for Chola period bronzes. The circular radiating wheel and limbs signify Vishnu’s universal and primordial nature, from which all other deities emanate. Unfortunately a prior condition of bronze disease (a form of corrosion that develops at high levels of humidity) has damaged this sculpture’s surface, obscuring the inscription and many of the formal details.

These highly sensory acts of worship, or puja, range from individual gestures to profound communal acts of religious emotion. Worshipers come to the festivals with their vows and petitions to seek spiritual and material blessings, or prasada, from the presiding deity. One of the most central rites of puja is darshana, which involves seeing and being seen by the deity. Darshana is a transaction between the deity and the worshiper, who seeks a direct and personal connection with the divine, through which grace, merit, and blessings are transferred. Because worshipers seek to place themselves under the deity’s gaze, the articulation of the eyes of bronze icons is of primary importance.

During the creation of a bronze icon, the incising of the eyes represents the awakening of the image. The eyes may become abraded over time, however, and they can be recut during consecration ceremonies. The eyes are often worn smooth by centuries of devotional worship, which includes bathing and anointing rites, or abhisheka. To perform abhisheka, the temple priest applies a series of auspicious substances—including ghee (clarified butter), milk, curds, honey, and an ash solution—to the surface of the bronze, which are followed by consecrated water and an application of sandalwood paste and turmeric. These procedures, which particularly activate the senses of touch and smell, are accompanied by the sounds of mantras, devotional hymns, and music, which gradually infuse the image with divine power. Once the anointing process is complete, the deity then undergoes a sacred dressing ceremony.

Brahma
Chola period, 12th century
Copper alloy
H. 15 5/8 x W. 10 1/4 x D. 7 1/2 in. (39.7 x 26 x 24.8 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.25

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The incising of the eyebrows and eyes on the four faces of this sculpture displays varying degrees of recutting, suggesting that the sculpture underwent various consecration ceremonies over the centuries. This ritual act of recutting served to re-enliven the image following regular lustrations that would have gradually eroded the metal. The ritual ladle and manuscript held in the figure’s front hands and the water jar and rosary (partially missing) held in the rear hands indicate that this sculpture, seated in the yogasana posture on an inverted lotus base, portrays a youthful Brahma. While Chola images of Brahma are relatively rare, the figure formed part of the marriage group assemblage of Shiva and Uma.

Uma Parameshvari (Great Goddess Uma)
Chola period, early 11th century
Copper alloy
H. 31 1/2 x W. 10 3/4 x D. 10 3/4 in. (88.9 x 27.3 x 27.3 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.19

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During the Chola period, adoration of the physical beauty of the divine was an integral part of bhakti. This visualization in sculpture of Shiva’s consort Uma represents the outward grace and sensuality that were considered manifestations of inner spiritual beauty. This image of Uma stands in the tribhanga, or triple-bend, posture.The tribhanga posture emphasizes the sensual contours of Uma’s slim waist and full breasts and hips. Her gracefully raised hand once held a lotus or blue lily blossom (now missing).

In preparation for their public appearances, the deities are ritually undressed, bathed, and then dressed again. The dressing ritual (during which photography is not permitted) is known in Sanskrit as alamkara. The term is derived from alam, meaning “sufficient,” and the verb kr, meaning “to make.” As the name suggests, alamkara is not superfluous embellishment. It completes and empowers the icons with properties, such as grace, beauty, and decorum, which in turn increase their efficacy or spiritual power. Alamkara further serves to articulate the sacredness and high status of the images. At the same time, it prepares them for darshana, the worshiping rite of seeing and being seen by the deity.

Deities are typically adorned in newly commissioned silk clothes, jewelry, fresh flower garlands, cosmetics, and perfumes. Like the bronzes themselves, these articles of costume are commissioned as acts of religious devotion. Jewelry and weaponry suggest regal affiliations and often include crowns, bracelets, armbands, necklaces, breastplates, rings, and earrings—typically inlaid with gold, silver, or precious stones. Appropriate markings adorn the forehead, such as the Shaiva marking of three horizontal stripes of white ash, which is also used to mark the foreheads of worshipers. The lifelike manner in which the deity’s bodies are embellished reveals the intimate relationship between the image, the divine, and the worshiper.

The lavish adornment of bronzes for festival processions was similarly practiced during the Chola period. The exquisitely rendered facial and costume details (created through the lost-wax technique) were largely concealed during the dressing process. Vertical prongs on the bases of numerous Chola bronzes originally supported a prabha, or aureole, which customarily framed the deity during processions. Held high, the deity appeared to observers as an honored and living presence, elaborately haloed and adorned.

Ganesha
Chola period, 11th century
Copper alloy
H. 21 1/4 x W. 12 x D. 10 7/8 in. (54 x 30.5 x 27.6 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.26

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Today, a portable bronze image of a standing Ganesha typically commences festival processions, including that of the Brahmotsava festival, pictured in the photographs on display in this gallery. In this capacity Ganesha serves as the deity of auspicious beginnings, leading the festival prior to the appearance of the main deity, Shiva, and the rest of his entourage. The Brahmotsava procession includes five primary sets of images: Shiva as Somaskanda; Shiva’s consort Uma; their son Skanda (Murukan) with his two wives Valli and Devayani; Ganesha; and Saint Chandesha. The exquisite detailing and
sensual grace of Ganesha’s sculpted figure suggest that he was a major deity during the Chola period.

Shiva as Somaskanda (with Uma and Skanda)
Chola period, late 12th century
Copper alloy
H. 19 x W. 23 3/4 x D. 11 in. (48.3 x 60.3 x 27.9 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.28

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Although Chola bronze icons were lavishly embellished for processions with silk garments, jewels, and garlands, the metal surfaces themselves were adorned with finely rendered costume details. In this image, a bejeweled Shiva (on the left) is dressed in a short dhoti, and his matted hair is arranged in a royal crown-like form. He wears two kinds of earrings—an aquatic makara-shaped earring on his right ear and a large circular ring on his left—which symbolize his dual nature, comprising male and female aspects respectively. At the back of both his and Uma’s heads is a small halo-like wheel, or siraschakra, covering the headband knot. This ornament typically adorns all Chola bronze deities and is absent only when the knot itself is elaborately rendered, such as in the tenth-century image of Shiva Nataraja in the second gallery of this exhibition.

Shiva’s Bull
Chola period, ca. 1200
Copper alloy
H. 20 1/4 x W. 20 1/2 x D. 13 1/4 in. (51.4 x 52.1 x 34 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.30

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In Shaiva temples today, an enshrined stone image of Shiva’s mount—the bull, or vrsa, commonly referred to as Nandi (“joyous one”)—is typically placed in front of the temple sanctum facing the sacred center as a guardian figure. Chola period bronze processional images of the bull, however, are rare, suggesting that he was more commonly fashioned out of perishable material, such as wood, for festival events. In this hollow-cast bronze, Shiva’s bull sits serenely upright on a double-lotus pedestal above a rectangular base pierced with holes that would have been used to fasten the sculpture to a vehicle during processions. He is adorned with multi-stranded garlands of bells around his neck, metal covers on his horns, an elaborate saddlecloth and harness, and jeweled anklets—all of which evoke his royal status.

Pumpavai, O beautiful girl!
Would you go without having seen
on the streets of great Mayilai,
always busy with festive crowds,
the festival of Pankuni Uttiram
with its great sound of celebration,
at which beautiful women
sing and distribute alms,
at the Lord’s Kapaliccaram shrine,
center of many festivals?¹

Among the many rites of this festival, the most important are the processions of deities embodied in bronze icons. These deities appear as living beings, elaborately dressed in silks, jewels, crowns, and flower garlands, which largely obscure their metal surfaces. Twice a day, in the morning and evening, images of the gods emerge from the temple compound and are paraded through the surrounding streets. During these processions devotees place fruit and other offerings before the images. Today the presiding deity of the festival is Shiva as Somaskanda (with Uma and Skanda). Shiva is locally known, however, as Kapalishvara (Lord of the Skull-Bowl), the form he takes at the dissolution of the cosmos. This earlier form of Shiva, which is now associated with Shiva as Bhikshatana (Enchanting Mendicant), emerges on the ninth day of the festival.

In accordance with status, the presiding deities are typically carried on the animal mounts, or vahanas, with which they are associated—for example Shiva on the bull Nandi—or on chariot-temple cars. Chariot-temple cars, or rathas, have four or more wheels and are pulled with long bamboo poles and ropes. They are typically made of wood with towering superstructures that resemble the temple architecture itself. Lesser deities and poet-saints are transported on palanquins, or sibika, portable shrines secured to long bamboo poles that are carried on the shoulders of temple servants. Other appointees usually walk alongside the procession waving fly whisks or holding parasols to honor and shade the deities. Lugs and perforated holes at the bases of the bronze sculptures are used to tie and secure the bronzes to their vehicles. These vehicles conjure up images of royal palatial abodes, in which the deities are elevated high in the air for their audience to see.

Shiva as Nataraja (Lord of Dance)
Chola period, ca. 970
Copper alloy
H. 26 3/4 x W. 21 1/2 x D. 10 in. (67.9 x 54.6 x 25.4 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.20

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The Hindu cyclical concept of time is spectacularly embodied in this form of Shiva as Nataraja—an icon of great symbolic importance during the Chola dynasty at numerous sites. Surrounded by a fiery aureole and wrapped in serpents, Shiva performs the dance of bliss, or ananda tandava, with an energy that sprays his matted locks outward. Entangled in his locks is the river goddess Ganga (Ganges). In his upper hands, Shiva holds a drum, which symbolizes the rhythm of creation, and fire, the destructive force of the universe. His open right palm signifies protection and his left hand points to his raised foot, signifying refuge and deliverance. Mushalagan, the dwarf demon of ignorance and illusion, lies prostrate below, and the kirttimukha, or face of glory, at the apex of the aureole both protects and terrifies.

Uma as Shivakami (Beloved of Shiva)
Chola period, 11th century
Copper alloy
H. 21 1/4 x W. 7 in. x D. 6 1/4 in. (54 x 17.8 x 15.9 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Estate of Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller, 1992.5

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Bronze images of Shiva as Nataraja were usually installed in smaller shrines within the temple complex and were flanked by other images, often a standing image of his consort, Uma. In Tamil tradition today, the goddess is known as Shivakami, or Beloved of Shiva, when in the company of Nataraja. Although these two images were not originally part of the same assemblage, an image of Uma similar to this one would have been positioned to Shiva’s left as a witness to his divine dance. The pairing signifies the symbiotic nature of the god and his female consort, which is also expressed in androgynous representations of Shiva as Ardhanarisvara, in which his right half is male and his left is female.

Accompanying the production of cast-metal icons were the building of large structural temples and the growth of communities of saints, or bhaktas. These bhaktas, who lived between the sixth and ninth centuries, traveled from one temple site to another proselytizing and composing and reciting hymns in praise of their chosen god. In both Shaiva and Vaishnava tradition, groups of saints became part of the faiths’ canons. In Vaishnava tradition (worship of Vishnu), the canonized group of twelve saints was known as alvars, or those immersed [in god], and in Shaiva tradition, the group of sixty-three saints was known as nayanmars, or leaders. Of the Shaiva saints, the four most revered were Appar, Sambandar, Manikkavachakar, and Sundarar.

The hymns of these saints, written in Tamil and usually sung, were collected and became a major source of theology in later periods. While these hymns were not necessarily based on direct contemplation of a sculptural representation of a deity, they offer personal responses that inform a cultural understanding of these Chola period bronzes. Like the figural bronzes themselves, the hymns serve to humanize the deity, making the deity more personal and accessible.

Saint Appar
Chola period, 13th century
Copper alloy
H. 20 in. (50 cm)
Courtesy of Pacific Straits Ventures

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Saint Appar was the first of the Shaiva poet-saints. His title, Appar, meaning revered father, was given to him by his young contemporary, Sambandar. Appar converted to Shaivism after being miraculously cured of a stomach ailment. His hymns to Shiva are replete with gratitude and penitence, and he often admonishes himself for his earlier days as a Jain monk. His demeanor as a humble servant is reflected in bronze processional images like this one, which typically portray Appar clothed in a simple dhoti with palms joined in adoration and strands of rudraksha beads around his head and arms. He holds a hoe in his left arm, signifying his readiness to perform menial labor.

Saint Manikkavachakar
Chola period, 12th century
Copper alloy
H. 19 1/4 x W. 6 3/4 x D. 4 5/8 in. (48.9 x 17.1 x 11.7 cm)
Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.27

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From the eleventh century on, south Indian Shaiva temples commonly had a full set of bronze images of the sixty-three principal nayanmar saints. Manikkavachakar was added to this group in the twelfth century during a period of heightened devotion to the saints. According to descriptions of his life, Manikkavachakar lived during the second half of the ninth century and was a minister in the Pandya royal court prior to devoting his life to Shiva

Saint Sambandar
Chola period, ca. 1200
Copper alloy
H. 30 in. (76.2 cm)
Collection of Doris Wiener 

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Whether Sambandar is depicted standing or dancing, Chola artists almost always portrayed this saint with one finger pointing toward the sky and adorned with the infant’s girdle (traditionally composed of bells). These motifs, along with a handheld drinking cup as seen in this sculpture, are suggestive of his legenary childhood transformation to Shaiva devotion. As a child, Sambandar was left alone by his father at the temple water tank crying with hunger. His father returned to find the infant with milk running down his chin and playing with a golden cup. When his father asked him who had given him the milk, Sambandar pointed upward to an image of the goddess Uma (commonly known in northern India as Parvati) beside Shiva on the temple tower. The familial intimacy suggested in this form of Shiva and Uma is reflected in Sambandar’s hymns to Shiva, which often address Shiva in a joyful and loving manner.