The Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation was set up in 1973 by the Government of Tamilnadu. Having six production units of its own, the aim of this Corporation has been to develop the handicrafts of Tamilnadu and by providing market outlets for a wide variety of them, to support the numerous artisans who have as their forefathers did, the making of handicrafts as their principal means both of livelihood and creativeness � in clay, stone, brass metal, wood, gold and silver, ivory, cane and bamboo, silk and cotton and in bronze. The bronze icons, such as depicted in this brochure, mostly replicas of the 10th � 12th centuries Chola bronzes are sculptured strictly on the lines prescribed in the Silpasastra texts, at the Corporation�s units at Swamimalai in Thanjavur district and also at Salem. These like all other medieval Indian bronzes, carry no signature. Named POOMPUHAR after a most ancient and fabulous Tamil coastal city, the Corporation has its emporia in almost all district towns of Tamilnadu; in Tiruchirappalli, Thanjavur, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Salem, Erode and Coimbatore.