The figure at the center of this plaque was later to become a Hindu goddess. Here, she is surrounded by attendants, holding flywhisks, fans, and an umbrella over her head. The pillars at the edge of the plaque define her shrine. At the top of the pillars, little yaksas, male deities associated with the earth’s bounty, support the roof. The largest pieces of jewelry, her bracelets for example, are probably strings of flowers.

Most of the gods and goddesses that eventually comprised the Hindu pantheon weren’t yet defined when this sculpture was made—the first century B.C. So although a number of such plaques survive, it’s usually difficult to identify their protagonists. Here, however, you are probably looking at an early portrayal of the martial goddess Durga. The clue is her hairpins. They are actually weapons tucked into her hair. In later Hindu mythology, Durga receives weapons from all the Hindu gods, who ask her to slay a demon that none of them can vanquish. When the mythology and its artistic representation later became fully established, Durga is shown holding these weapons, killing the buffalo demon.