Old copper wallhanger depicting the Hindu deity Shiva in one of his most famous manifestations; Nataraja, the divine cosmic dancer.
Some of the oldest known depictions of Shiva in this pose date back to the 6th century CE, for example in the stone reliefs in the Ellora caves and Badami caves in India.
The term 'Nataraja' comes from Sanskrit language and can roughly be translated as 'Lord (or King) of the Dance'. The Nataraja depiction of Shiva shows him performing the eternal dance of creation, destruction and all things in between. Shiva embodies the powers of transformation, by giving movement and direction to the cosmic powers.
Depictions of Shiva Nataraja are filled with symbolism. Often in this posture he is depicted with four arms, with each hand holding a different symbolic item (such as a small fire and damaru-drum) or in a meaningful mudra (such as gajahasta, dandahasta or abhaya). Around him is a ring of flames symbolizing the transformational fire and beneath his feet, being trambled in his dance, the dwarf-like figure of the demon Apasmara (or Muyalaka) can be seen, symbolizing spiritual ignorance and greedy, possessive selfhood.
This wallhanger has quite some years of age to it already and, as can be seen on the pictures, over the years it has gained some damages and imperfections, most noteable of which is a crack between the inner circle and outer edge. This crack has been restored/stabilized by a previous owner, but can still be seen. But with its beautiful, elaborate decorations, this wallhanger is of course still a very nice piece to decorate your altar space or living room.
Diameter; approximately 31,5 centimeters.
