Loading

Golden Lily Tank, Madurai

1875-1900

Asian Art Museum

Asian Art Museum
San Francisco, United States

Most photographs of colonial India were taken in northern India, since there was a larger European presence there. Southern India has its own rich architectural history, however, even if less well documented.
The great temple city of Madurai (in what is now Tamil Nadu state) is noted for its towering gateways. Dating mostly to the 1600s, the Minakshi Temple is actually a double temple, with main shrines to the goddess Minakshi and the god Sundareshvara, a form of Shiva. The Golden Lily Tank, the largest water tank in the complex, is located to the side, in front of the goddess temple. The gateway seen to the right leads toward the Shiva Temple, and the gateways in the center leads directly into the goddess shrine. The inclusion in this photograph of devotees bathing at the tank gives a sense of the immense scale of the pond.

Show lessRead more
  • Title: Golden Lily Tank, Madurai
  • Date Created: 1875-1900
  • Location Created: India; Tamil Nadu state, Madurai
  • Physical Dimensions: H. 6 15/16 in x W. 9 15/16 in, H. 17.6 cm x W. 25.2 cm
  • Rights: Public Domain
  • Medium: Collotype
  • Credit Line: Asian Art Museum, From the Collection of William K. Ehrenfeld, M.D., 2005.64.632
Asian Art Museum

Get the app

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more

Home
Discover
Play
Nearby
Favorites