Loving Couple (Mithuna)

1st–2nd century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 235

Depictions of loving couples are ubiquitous in early Indian art, occurring in stupa gateways and rock-cut shrines. Although their specific meaning is obscure, they are interpreted as an auspicious life-affirming presence. Another disk, perhaps from the same mold, was excavated at the early urban center of Sonkh, in Mathura, the Kushan-era capital of north India.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Loving Couple (Mithuna)
Period: Kushan period
Date: 1st–2nd century
Culture: India (Uttar Pradesh, Mathura)
Medium: Double-molded terracotta
Dimensions: D. 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm); Diam. 3 15/16 in. (10 cm)
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: Gift of Cynthia Hazen Polsky, 1986
Object Number: 1986.506.11
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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