Pallava period (Social and Cultural History)
by S. Krishnamurthy | 2017 | 143,765 words
This study examines the Social and Cultural History of the Pallava period (as gleaned through the Sculptural Art). The Pallavas (6th-9th century A.D.) mainly ruled over the Tondaimandalam (Tondai Nadu) region in the Northern part of Tamil Nadu (South-India). The Pallava dynasty ensured a golden age of architecture, arts, and spirituality and while ...
Neck Ornaments (Kanthabhushana)
The sculptural art of this period display a variety of ornaments adorning the neck.
Broadly the neck ornaments or kanthabhushana can be grouped under two categories.
(1) Necklet (kanthi) which closely embrace the neck and sometimes reaching upto the collor bone.
(2) Necklaces (haras) which are worn loosely falling over the chest and sometimes reaching up to the abdomen.
As most of the sculptures are portrayed in profile or semi-profile, the method of fastening the ornament around the neck is not much known. However, from a few sculptures like the one depicted in a panel from the Thantontrisvara temple at Kanchipuram, it can be surmized that at least those necklaces, which are formed of a single string of beads or pearls (ekavali) are worn by tying together its stringed terminals into a knot. The various types of kanthabhushana of this period are described as following.