Swamimalai bronze icons
Topic: Southern Dynasties: Chalukyas, Pallavas, Cholas · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Swamimalai bronze icons are bronze images of gods made at Swamimalai, near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. Craftsmen there still use the lost-wax method. In this method, a wax model is covered in clay and heated so the wax melts and runs out. Molten metal is then poured into the empty mould. This living craft carries on the famous Chola bronze tradition. It received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, a legal label that protects products tied to one place, in 2008.
Example
Swamimalai craftsmen still cast images of Nataraja, Shiva as "Lord of dance". They follow the style of the early Chola Nataraja bronzes.
Don't confuse with
- Chola bronzes: the original images cast under the Chola kings, c. 10th–12th centuries. Swamimalai icons are modern works made in the same tradition.
Related concepts
- Chola bronzes
- Nataraja
- Airavatesvara temple, Darasuram
- Great Living Chola Temples
- Chidambaram temple
- Gommateshwara statue
- Angkor Wat