CC0 · no rights reserved
Pudhu Mandapa of Tirumal Nayak (r. 1623–59), Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The temple complex that contains this open, pillared hall is dedicated to Minakshi, a form of Parvati, and her consort, Sundareshvara, a form of Shiva. The central column depicts Shiva feeding sugarcane to an elephant. Because Linnaeus Tripe respected the Hindu temples as places of religious, historical, and artistic value, he strove to document the carvings decorating the temples, even when they were hidden in shadow.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit linePudhu Mandapa of Tirumal Nayak (r. 1623–59), Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai, 1858. Captain Linnaeus Tripe (British, 1822–1902). Albumen print; image: 35.7 x 27.3 cm (14 1/16 x 10 3/4 in.); paper: 35.7 x 27.3 cm (14 1/16 x 10 3/4 in.); mounted: 57.4 x 45.4 cm (22 5/8 x 17 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 2020.211
Similar works
Arcade at the Meenakshi temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
Entrance to the Thousand Pillared Mundapam in the Great Pagoda
Detail of a fireplace from the Château d'Écouen representing a helmet
Outer Prakarum on the North Side of the Temple of the God Sundareshwara
Interior of the Meenakshi temple at Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
Carved pillars of the Mandapam at the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India