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WASHINGTON D.C., U.S.A., December 6, 2002: An exhibition at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery here, “The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes From South India,” doesn’t waste much time. Its opening salute to this glorious art of the Chola period consists of three spectacular bronzes of God Siva as Nataraja, Lord of Dance. In each, Siva balances on his right leg while crooking his left up and across his body, communicating the sense of imminent motion — be it a spin across the heavens or a tremor of devotion — that animates all great Indian sculpture. The dancing Sivas, lent by museums in Dallas and Amsterdam and an unnamed private collector, lead off a succession of works, many of which are well known and widely reproduced, but are rarely, if ever, seen in one another’s company. In a collaboration between the Sackler and the American Federation of Arts, this exhibition has been organized by Vidya Dehejia, a professor of art history at Columbia University and formerly the chief curator and deputy director of the Sackler. It is the first in the United States to concentrate solely on the bronze temple sculptures created during the nearly four-century reign of the devout, munificent and innovative Chola emperors. It would not be an overstatement to say that these sculptures are among the most beautiful ever made, in any material. There are 56 here, and they easily overcome the first requirement of any Sackler show, distracting viewers from the depressing reality of a museum that is mostly underground, nearly devoid of natural light and plagued by a confusing layout. The sculptures’ transporting combination of formal perfection, religious gravity and life-affirming alertness can make the setting all but disappear.

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