The Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati with their son Skanda

Many southern Indian images of Shiva, like this one, hold a battle-ax and a deer. “Hold” is perhaps not the right word: sometimes, especially in sculptures from later centuries, a deity's symbolic implements appear not so much held as elegantly balanced on the tips of the fingers. The prongs on either side of the throne would have supported a horseshoe-shaped bronze halo (now lost) arching over the figures. The metal rings on the base suggest that this sculpture would have been carried in procession during important religious festivals.

A long Telugu language inscription on the front of the throne tells the name of the donor (and his father and grandfather) and says that the sculpture was made for the Ekambareshvara Temple in the city of Kanchipuram. This temple was founded by the ruler of the south Indian kingdom of Vijayanagara in 1509. Bronzes similar to this one, showing Shiva and his wife and son, had, by this period, been made for several centuries.