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Loving Couple (Mithuna)

13th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 241
A Hindu temple was often envisioned as the world's central axis, in the form of a mountain inhabited by a god. The temple itself was therefore worshipped. This was done by circumambulation (walking around the exterior, in this case in a counterclockwise direction) and by viewing its small inner sanctum. The outside of the temple was usually covered with myriad reliefs: some portrayed aspects of the god within or related deities; others represented the mountain's mythological inhabitants. From early times, iconic representations of deities and holy figures were augmented by auspicious images, such as beautiful women, musicians, and loving couples (mithunas). Once part of the subsidiary decoration of a temple facade, the figures of this bejeweled couple embrace while peering rapturously into each other's eyes. Their full bodies and broad, detailed features are characteristic of architectural sculptures produced in thirteenth-century Orissa, a region in northeast India that was noted for its temples, particularly those built from the tenth through the thirteenth century, often distinguished by figures in astonishingly acrobatic and erotic poses. Couples such as this pair are understood to have multiple meanings, ranging from an obvious celebration of life's pleasures to the more metaphorical symbolism of a human soul's longing for union with the divine.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Loving Couple (Mithuna)
  • Period: Eastern Ganga dynasty
  • Date: 13th century
  • Culture: India (Orissa)
  • Medium: Ferruginous stone
  • Dimensions: H. 72 in. (182.9 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Florance Waterbury Bequest, 1970
  • Object Number: 1970.44
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

Audio

Cover Image for 7973. Loving Couple (Mithuna)

7973. Loving Couple (Mithuna)

Gallery 241

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This frankly erotic relief of a loving couple—ormithuna—graced a 13th-century Hindu temple. The lovers are frozen in the moment before they kiss. They gaze into each other’s eyes, as their bodies intertwine like vines. Notice the canopy of leaves shading this couple. Plant imagery usually refers to fertility. In itself, amithuna’s certainly a fertility symbol—and therefore an auspicious emblem. Hindus celebrate sexual pleasure as good in and of itself. Erotic temple sculptures also have a metaphorical meaning. This couple peels back the illusory barrier separating fleshly life and the divine. Erotic love is revealed as an earthly reflection of the soul’s yearning for god. Hindus practicing circumambulation—that is, walking around the outside of a temple—would have seen the artworks on the temple exterior as aids to instruction and meditation. Frequently, gods and holy figures were interspersed with mithunas and scenes of sexual ecstasy.

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