Nandi the Bull

India, state of Tamil Nadu, Chola dynasty, 12th century
Bronze Purchase
F1985.30

Nandi (the Joyous One) has the distinctive hump of an Indian bull and wears jewelry that befits his stature as the trusty mount of Shiva. Like all Indian deities, he rests upon a lotus, which symbolizes divine purity. Devotees threaded poles through the openings in the lotus base and carried the bull on their shoulders to accompany an image of Shiva in temple processions.