ASIA SOCIETY PRESENTS RARE ASSEMBLAGE OF SOME OF THE FINEST EXAMPLES OF INDIAN BRONZE SCULPTURES DEVOTION IN SOUTH INDIA: CHOLA BRONZES October 6, 2009 through February 7, 2010 Asia Society presents Devotion in South India: Chola Bronzes, a rare assemblage of exquisite bronze sculptures in the first New York museum exhibition to focus on Chola bronzes in decades. Representing the pinnacle of bronze casting in India, these sculptures became widely prevalent from the ninth through thirteenth century under the imperial rule of the Chola dynasty in the Tamil-speaking region of southern India. According to Asia Society Museum Director Melissa Chiu, “This exhibition is a rare opportunity to see some of the best examples of Chola bronzes outside of India. While most presentations of bronzes from this era focus on their aesthetic qualities—their graceful poses and refined modeling—this exhibition focuses on the use and adornment of these sculptures in a devotional tradition that continues today.” Adds exhibition cocurator Adriana Proser, “This exhibition is a rare opportunity to appreciate some of the world’s finest Indian bronze sculptures in a devotional and historical context.” For many, South Indian Chola bronzes represent technical perfection; they also reveal a sophisticated relationship between the spiritual and the sensual. The exhibition examines the Chola bronzes in relation to the Hindu tradition of bhakti (devotion), which emphasizes intense and intimate worship of a personal god. While bhakti takes different regional forms throughout India, the earliest bhakti movements arose in the southern region of the Indian subcontinent. The ruling Chola elites, most of whom were devotees of Shiva, drew upon this popular piety in their patronage of temple bronzes, partly to legitimize their dynastic power and social prestige. Devotion in South India: Chola Bronzes is cocurated by Adriana Proser, John H. Foster Curator for Traditional Asian Art, Asia Society, and Jacqueline Ganem, Asia Society Museum Getty Fellow. Read the Full Press Release Contact: Elaine Merguerian, (212) 327-9271, [email protected]

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