id: 149033
accession number: 1977.175
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1977.175
updated: 2023-04-19 11:40:20.181000
Seated Yaksha, AD 300s. Northern India, Uttar Pradesh, probably Kaushambi. Terracotta; overall: 47.3 x 26 cm (18 5/8 x 10 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1977.175
title: Seated Yaksha
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: AD 300s
creation date earliest: 300
creation date latest: 399
current location: 242A Ancient India
creditline: John L. Severance Fund
copyright:
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culture: Northern India, Uttar Pradesh, probably Kaushambi
technique: terracotta
department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection: Indian Art - Kushan, Mathura
type: Sculpture
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
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measurements: Overall: 47.3 x 26 cm (18 5/8 x 10 1/4 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Kushan Sculpture: Images from Early India
opening date: 1985-11-13T05:00:00
Kushan Sculpture: Images from Early India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 13, 1985-January 5, 1986).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
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PROVENANCE
(Stolper Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
date: ?–1977
footnotes:
citations:
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
date: 1977–
footnotes:
citations:
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fun fact:
The figure wears a heavy, short necklace and originally wore earrings, of which only the left one remains.
digital description:
The power and frontality of this figure, whose bare feet are planted firmly on the ground, along with the corpulence of his protruding belly, suggest that the image may represent Kubera, or a yaksha worshiped for wealth and prosperity. Terracottas of large size like this one were usually modeled freely and incised with a wire tool.
wall description:
Large images in the round are not common among Kushana terracottas, but they became much more popular during the Gupta period. This sculpture shows a headless, armless male seated European style on a perforated stool, his bare feet firmly on the ground. The posture is characteristic of heraldic royal portraits. This feature, as well as the corpulence of the figure with a protuberant belly, often associated with yakshas, suggests that the image may represent Kubera, Pancika, or Jambhala, the king of the yakshas. The deity wears an ankle-length dhoti with a long sash that falls between the legs. The folds of the garment are marked by regular parallel incisions––horizontal on the legs and vertical between them. He wears a heavy, short necklace and originally wore earrings, of which only the left one remains. There are also indications of a scarf around the neck on the back of the figure. The bare, plump torso with prominent breasts and deep navel, while still retaining the heftiness of the Kushana style, is indicative of the plasticity of the coming Gupta period. Terracottas of large size like this one were usually modeled freely, with the occasional use of molds or stamps for ornaments and decorations with final touches added by a chisel. To make them lighter, they were fashioned hollow, around a combustible core that burned away during the firing process. The back side of the stool was once broken and repaired.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
"Annual Report for 1977." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 65, no. 6 (1978): 177-215.
page number: Mentioned: pp. 191–192
url: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25159587
Czuma, Stanislaw J., and Rekha Morris. Kushan Sculpture: Images from Early India. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1985.
page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 54, pp. 126–127
url:
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1977.175/1977.175_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1977.175/1977.175_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1977.175/1977.175_full.tif