Made of gray sandstone, this sculpture depicts the Hindu god Shiva and his spouse Uma seated on their respective bull and lion mounts. Smaller figures below their feet represent their two sons Ganesha and Kumara (riding his peacock mount), the devout emaciated Bhringi, an unidentified male ascetic, and female fly whisk bearer. This type of composition is generally known in Sanskrit texts as Uma-Maheshvara (“Uma and the Great Lord” [Shiva]).
Here, however, a more specific title based on iconographic and stylistic grounds is appropriate. Known as “Umapati” (“husband of Uma”), the appellation denotes an iconological aspect of the deities that emphasizes Uma’s role as the “great Mother Goddess” and that of her beloved husband Shiva as the “primeval Father God.” Iconographically, Uma is seated with her legs pendent in the so-called European posture (pralambapadasana), which was shared by images of Mother Goddesses made in southwestern Uttar Pradesh during the 8th century. In addition, Uma and the Mother Goddesses wear a necklace with a pendant on a long chain that idiosyncratically curves off to the side instead of following the body’s vertical axis. Stylistically, the LACMA sculpture shares several traits characteristic of many stone sculptures made in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh during the 8th and 9th centuries. These include a distinctive countenance created by exaggerated facial features and a stylized treatment of the ribcage indicating an ascetic nature and prowess.
See Stephen Markel, "The Disputed Umā-Maheśvara in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art: A Case Study in Reattribution and Reinterpretation," Archives of Asian Art 58 (2008): 87-111.
