Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents viii
3. Acknowledgments ix
4. Introduction: Chola Bronzes and the Thief Who Stole My Heart 1
5. 1 Gods on Parade: Sacred Forms of Copper 9
6. 2 Battling for Empire and Shiva as Victor of Three Forts 855-955 37
7. 3 Writ in Stone: Temple Walls as Inscribed Archives 67
8. 4 Portrait of a Queen and Her Patronage of Dancing Shiva: 941-1002 89
9. 5 The Tiruvenkadu Master and Ten Thousand Pearls Adorn a Bronze: Eleventh Century 129
10. 6 Chola Obsession with Sri Lanka and Hindu Bronzes from the Island: Eleventh Century 165
11. 7 The Silk Route of the Ocean and Temple Art in the Days of Rajaraja II: Twelfth Century 193
12. 8 Evolving Manifestations of the Goddess, the God Vishnu, and the Buddha 221
13. 9 Worship in Uncertain Times and the Secret Burial of Bronzes: Thirteenth Century 249
14. 10 Reviewing the Chola Achievement a Millennium Later 267
15. Appendix A: Main Rulers of the Chola Dynasty: A Tentative Genealogy 272
16. Appendix B: Assemblages of Sacred Bronzes: Inscriptional Evidence 273
17. Appendix C: Tenth- Century Chola Yoginis in Context 277
18. Appendix D: Trace Metal Analysis on Five Chola Bronzes, by Matthew L. Clarke, Nicole C. Little, and Donna K. Strahan 282
19. Glossary 286
20. Notes 288
21. Index 316
22. Photography and Copyright Credits 322