id:			138613
accession number:	1962.45
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.45
updated:		2020-08-06 09:06:07.246000

Head of a Yaksha, c. 125 BC. Northern India, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura, Shunga Period (c. 187-78 BC). Mottled red sandstone; overall: 48.2 x 40 x 35.6 cm (19 x 15 3/4 x 14 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 1962.45

title:				Head of a Yaksha
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 125 BC
creation date earliest:		150
creation date latest:		50
current location:		242A Ancient India
creditline:			Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Northern India, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura, Shunga Period (c. 187-78 BC)
technique:	mottled red sandstone
department:	Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection:	Indian Art - Sunga
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 48.2 x 40 x 35.6 cm (19 x 15 3/4 x 14 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Year in Review - 1962
	opening date:   1962-10-24T04:00:00
	<i>Year in Review - 1962</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	(William H. Wolff, New York, NY, ?-1962, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: ?-1962
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 1962-present
	date: 1962-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 


digital description: 
Colossal statues of <em>yakshas</em>, male divinities who personify the productive forces of nature, were especially popular in the northern Indian region around the ancient city of Mathura. They were installed in shrines in parks and gardens, often associated with extraordinary trees. The red sandstone is from a nearby quarry, called Sikri.

wall description: 
Images of <em>yakshas</em>, often imposing in scale, were worshipped in shrines, usually under a special tree, in the hopes that they will grant prosperity and wealth. Many iconic yaksha figures grasp a bag of money. Some were thought to preside over pregnancy and childbirth and to be responsible either for a successful birth or miscarriage. Yakshas were an ambivalent, but widely venerated category of divinities, popular on a local level and not necessarily part of an organized religious system, such as Buddhism or Hinduism. Early Indian texts state that Mathura was famous for its large numbers of yakshas. The heavy round volumes of the face, earring, and turban are stylistic features of art from Mathura during this period.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 228
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n252

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 228
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n252

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 287
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n307

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 11
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1991/page/n26

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1962.45/1962.45_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1962.45/1962.45_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1962.45/1962.45_full.tif