NARRATOR:
Though this figure’s identity is still uncertain, her elaborate hairstyle fits descriptions of the goddess Sita, the heroine of the great Indian epic, the Ramayana. Sita is the ideal wife, who willingly follows her husband, Rama, into exile. “Chaste as Sita” is a common form of praise for a Hindu wife. If this is, in fact, Sita, she probably once stood next to even larger figures of her husband and his brother, Lakshman.
This sculpture, carved from an immense block of granite, is the largest female figure in the collection. Most large granite sculptures from India, like the ones you see in this gallery, are relief sculptures that emerge from a stone background. Yet, the sculptor who created this Indian goddess carved her in the round, hollowing out the spaces between her arms and torso, and fully representing her back, as you can see if you look around behind her.
Large statues like this were often placed in niches where they would be seen only from the front, but perhaps devotees were expected to circle this goddess. Or she may emulate a bronze sculpture, for her tall, slim proportions, long legs and curvaceous torso are characteristic of bronzes, which were also executed in the round.
Sita (?)
c. 1100-1150
Asia: India, Tamil Nadu
On View
The heroine of the epic Ramayana and the wife of Rama, Sita is also worshiped as the divinity presiding over agriculture. The lotus held in her left hand is the ubiquitous emblem for a goddess in Tamil Nadu. The sculptor of this remarkable piece employed considerable restraint in the carving, as the ornamentation and simplified garments do not overwhelm the rounded, sensuous forms of her body.
Details
- Title: Sita (?)
- Date: c. 1100-1150
- Medium: Granite
- Dimensions: 71 x 22 x 16-3/4 in. (180.3 x 55.9 x 42.5 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1975.17.04.S
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 1: Art from the Indian Subcontinent, 2003, no. 181 p. 255
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 1254 p. 387
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