Mother Goddess (Matrika)
Restituted
This artwork was restituted in November 2022. It is no longer in the museum’s collection.This figure is one of a group of seven mother goddesses that sprang from an associated Hindu male god. Despite their alluring beauty, these matrikas represent dangerous and malevolent forces—the devourers of children and bearers of sickness and disease. Although they were integral to early temple iconographic schema, as seen at sixth-century Aihole, their power was so threatening that they were soon marginalized, consigned to dedicated shrines beyond city boundaries. The combined power of the matrikas is understood to be embodied in the mother goddess par excellence, Durga.
Artwork Details
- Title: Mother Goddess (Matrika)
- Period: Post-Gupta period
- Date: mid- 6th century
- Culture: India (Rajasthan, Tanesara)
- Medium: Gray schist
- Dimensions: H. 24 1/2 in. (62.2 cm); W. 9 in. (22.9 cm); D. 4 1/2 in. (11.4 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 1993
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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10th–11th century
Teotihuacan artist(s)
350–600 CE
7th–19th century
Pakistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, possibly Takht-i-bahi monastery, ancient region of Gandhara
3rd century
Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)
ca. 3rd century
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