Some of India's rarest and finest sculptures, never before seen in the UK, have gone on display at the Royal Academy.

A blockbuster exhibition devoted to the Chola dynasty of southern India showcases bronze sculptures from the ninth to the 13th centuries.

The 40 pieces are widely considered to be among the finest works of Indian sculptural art. They have been loaned by various international institutions and private collectors and the exhibition marks the first time that bronzes have been loaned to the UK by India's National Museum in Delhi and the Government Museum in Chennai.

The Cholas were a Tamil dynasty that emerged in the ninth century after the capture of Thanjavur - located in the present-day state of Tamil Nadu - in 850 and ruled for the next 400 years.

During their reigns, the Chola kings controlled much of southern India, extending as far as the islands of Sri Lanka, the Maldives and parts of Indonesia. A Royal Academy spokesman said: "The exhibition will show UK art lovers for the first time that the Cholas were great patrons of the arts, who oversaw an extensive programme of temple construction."

Portable bronze sculptures, revered as physical manifestationsof the Hindu gods, were produced to fulfil public functions and preside over specific festivities. Stone-built temples were richly decorated with depictions of Hindu gods and poetry, music and dance all thrived during the Cholas' ruling period.

The exhibition will continue into next year, the 60th anniversary of the independence of India. The spokesman said: "It also marks the 60th anniversary of the last major exhibition of the art and culture of India at the Royal Academy." RA exhibitions in recent times have spanned 18th century China and Persia.

• Chola: Sacred Bronzes Of Southern India is on until 25 February. Tickets are available through the Royal Academy's website. www.royalacademy.org.uk