Standing Rama Wearing High Headdress and Dhoti

The warrior-prince Rama was an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Rama’s story of exile in the wilderness and eventual victory over demon armies is told in the great Sanskrit epic the Ramayana. This figure once leaned on a tall bow with his left hand and held an arrow in his right, bringing to mind key episodes in the epic that called upon his legendary prowess as an archer. The figure’s unusually narrow waist and broad shoulders reveal the stylized canon of human proportions developed by sculptors of the Chola dynasty (c. 970–1279) in southern India. Bronze sculpture reached a peak during this period, with exceptional grace of pose and gesture deriving from temple dance traditions. Chola bronzes of Hindu deities were created for use in shrines, but many also served as processional images. They were sometimes removed from their shrines during festivals and paraded through temple grounds and city streets.