Mold depicting a charioteer and archer

ca. 200 BCE
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
This small clay disc depicts a warrior unleashing an arrow while driven by a charioteer, perhaps a heraldic image of a Mauryan ruler in the Achaemenid tradition of warrior-kingship. It was excavated together with inscribed ring stones and probably also served as a jeweler’s mold for ear ornaments.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Mold depicting a charioteer and archer
  • Period: Maurya
  • Date: ca. 200 BCE
  • Culture: India, Pataliputra, Bihar
  • Medium: Black clay
  • Dimensions: H. 3/4 in. (1.9 cm); Diam. 3 in. (7.6 cm)
  • Classification: Ceramics
  • Credit Line: Lent by Bihar Museum, Patna
  • Rights and Reproduction: Photo by Theirry Ollivier
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art