National treasure: Why does the Shiva statue have two colors?

The Shiva statue, which was recently recognized as a national treasure (12th batch) on January 18, 2024, is a rare upright human statue found in the country. Even more strangely, although it is a complete body, the statue has two different stone colors.

Rare standing Shiva statue found all over the country

Hoang Son

CHANCE OF RETURN

The Shiva statue is being kept at the My Son Room ( Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture) with the symbol BTC 26 (3.3) made of sandstone and is determined to be dated around the 8th century. The statue is 196 cm high, 55 cm wide, 52 cm thick, and weighs 250 kg. It was excavated by the Far East Archaeological Institute (EFEO) at My Son Tower C1 in 1903 and brought to the museum in 1918. The Shiva statue is in an upright position, with both hands extended forward. The head is meticulously and delicately depicted. The hair is braided and tied high. The neck has 3 folds, the shoulders are horizontal, the arms hang down, and the part from the elbows extending forward is broken...

The foot part attached to the base has a brighter color than the body of the statue.

Hoang Son

Leading us to visit the statue, Mr. Ly Hoa Binh, an officer of the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture, said that Shiva is a god worshiped mainly at the My Son sanctuary ( Quang Nam ), represented in the form of a linga and a human statue. According to Mr. Binh, the standing Shiva statue currently on display at the museum is an original, unique artifact, represented in the form of a large, round statue excavated at My Son C1 tower in 1903. Most of the Shiva statues discovered so far in Cham sculpture are often represented in relief form, sitting or standing in a dancing position.

The joint between the legs and the body is the interesting point of the Shiva statue.

Hoang Son

A close look reveals that the Shiva statue has two large fractures in its neck and lower body due to its three-part joint, including the head, body, and legs. Notably, although it is a complete statue, the upper body of the statue has a darker stone color than the legs, which are carved together with the base. Researcher Tran Ky Phuong explains that the reason the statue has two different colors is because in history, when the statue was found at My Son, the body was found first. The head was found by the French and brought back to the country for storage and then returned to the museum.

"The statue's foot was found on the stream bank at My Son temple complex. The weathering process in the underground and stream environments is different, causing the sandstone to have different colors. Therefore, when the joint is complete as it is today, the statue has two colors," said Mr. Phuong.

WHERE IS THE GOLD JEWELRY SET NOW?

Mr. Ly Hoa Binh added that, implementing the FSP project supported by the French Embassy, from 2004 to 2009, French and Cambodian experts came to the museum to research and propose solutions to preserve the statue. Previously, to join the statue, experts used iron pins inside the statue's body. Over time, the iron pins rusted, so experts removed, processed and replaced them with more durable materials. "In many documentary photos, around 1950, the statue had its legs attached. Thus, the loss of the two parts of the statue was very early, so they were weathered over a long period of time, which is why they have different colors," Mr. Binh further analyzed.

Evaluating the criteria of an artifact with a unique form, researcher Tran Ky Phuong said that this is a tall round statue with a unique form of expression of the god Shiva in an upright position, worshiped in the main tower C1 in the My Son sanctuary in the form of a human god. According to Mr. Phuong, at My Son, inside the B1 temple is a linga - yoni idol, inside the C1 temple is a statue of the human god Shiva standing on a yoni pedestal. In the form of linga - yoni, Shiva is seen as the pillar of the universe and regeneration, while the statue of the human god Shiva on the yoni pedestal has the shape of a king. Among all the Brahman temple relics of the Champa kingdom, My Son is the only sanctuary practicing this unique form of belief.

According to the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture, the decorative sculptures on this statue are considered delicate and unique, with a distinct local character, a beautiful work depicting the god Shiva in a round statue form that is still preserved today. The standing statue of Shiva is still relatively intact, especially in the earlobes, there are traces of jewelry holes, used to wear gold and silver jewelry in important ceremonies. From this information, researcher Tran Ky Phuong revealed that in 1903, during the exploratory excavation at tower C7, Henri Parmentier and his colleagues found a unique set of gold jewelry used to wear on this statue when performing rituals. "I know that after 1954, the set of gold jewelry was kept in the State Bank. To this day, the whereabouts of this set of jewelry is still unknown...", Mr. Phuong said.

Cham sculpture researchers further commented that the typical features shown on the face of the Shiva statue are also the basis for comparing and dating some precious metal kosa-lingas with carved faces of Shiva with similar features found in the Central region.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bao-vat-quoc-gia-vi-sao-bao-tuong-shiva-lai-co-2-mau-185240423230722288.htm