Some 64 sculptures were carved for a temple to yogini goddesses in South India (Tamil Nadu) around 900 CE. One thousand years later, after their temple was gone, at least a dozen of them were shipped to Paris and distributed to museums across North America and Western Europe. After tracking their journeys and reflecting on the roles they play in their current homes, Padma Kaimal has worked to reimagine what their lost home looked like. She is now studying the differences among them, in hopes of finding traces of the individuals who made these objects so long ago. Can we discern the separate hands of the many sculptors who must have collaborated on this huge project?

Presenter: Padma Kaimal, Batza Professor of Art, Colgate University