Fragment from a railing pillar with face of a yakshi
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This relief of a tree spirit, sharply chiseled to maximize the play of light and shadow, is a rich record of Shunga-era imagery. We see the power imbued in the goddess revealing herself in anthropomorphic form. The distinctive facial markings, likely tattooed, include auspicious solar markings and a hocked device, perhaps an elephant goad. This tool of elephant commanders likely references Indra, the Vedic god of storms, who rides a celestial elephant in the monsoon clouds and brings rain to the earth. The goddess’s markings and jewelry were noted by Alexander Cunningham in 1873 as still worn by local women, nearly two millennia later. The patterned cloth headcover is interwoven with strands of fragrant flowers from the sala tree.
Artwork Details
- Title: Fragment from a railing pillar with face of a yakshi
- Period: Shunga
- Date: ca. 150–100 BCE
- Culture: India, Bharhut Great Stupa, Satna district, Madhya Pradesh
- Medium: Sandstone
- Dimensions: H. 9 13/16 in. (25 cm); W. 4 3/4 in. (12 cm); D. 4 5/16 in. (11 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Lent by National Museum, New Delhi
- Rights and Reproduction: Photo by Theirry Ollivier
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art