Household Articles (g): Furniture

Not much sculptural evidence is found regarding the kind of furniture used by the common people, except for the various kinds of pedestals on which the gods and goddesses are seen either in seated or in standing posture. These can be regarded as replica in stone of the wooden originals, which could have been in usage in the households of those times. In the Avanibhajanapallavesvara-griham at Siyamangalam, on the pillar depicting Nataraja, the gana playing on the tabala can be seen seated on a low stool of hour-glass type (fig. 46). A similar small stool (fig. 369) can be seen in the panel depicting Ravana in the act of worshipping a Siva linga in the Airavatesvara temple at Kanchipuram. Here the linga appears to be a portable one and its is placed on a small pedestal, probably made of wood and is being worshipped by Ravana.