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Head of yaksha
India, Sanchi Stupa 1, Bhopal district, Madhya Pradesh
Not on view
This male head is among the earliest freestanding sculptures directly associated with Buddhist worship—prior to this, fully sculpted figures were devoted to nature deity shrines. It likely belonged to a male figure affixed to the upper crossbar of a ceremonial gateway at Sanchi Stupa 1, which was itself richly adorned with narrative scenes, an abundance of nature deities, and mythical aquatic creatures. Note the distinctive cross-tying of the turban seen here that culminates in a forehead bun backed by a fanlike arrangement of the cloth ends; such tying techniques are seen in images of nobility in the late Satavahana period.
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