It is always a treat to walk into the Bronze Gallery of Government Museum, Chennai. Hundreds of bronzes are displayed over three levels. One can easily spend hours enjoying one’s presence among those timeless beauties.

I especially appreciate the display cases where the bronzes of the same subject matter are displayed together. For someone interested in comparative iconography, those display cases are a delight. Good thinking and Kudos to the curator.

In my last visit, I specifically sought after the display cases of Dancing Krishna, as one of my friends Bharath asked me to take a look at them.

The fourth one from our left made me look at it again and again. I even went back to it to take another look. Read the label. It is attributed to the 14th century. Compare it with the neighboring bronzes. Not convinced that dancing Krishna is what the label says. Take a closer look.

Patina is not right, the finish is rough, no smoothening due to use and the quality is inferior to other bronzes in that case.

For comparison, I have included the subject of this blog, on our right, with one of its neighbours.

The differences are obvious, and I was left wondering ‘what happened here’.

Your comments are welcome.