id:			151020
accession number:	1982.64
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1982.64
updated:		2023-08-23 22:46:15.363000

Lovers (Mithuna), 1000s. India, Madhya Pradesh, Khajuraho, Medieval period, Candella dynasty, 11th century. Sandstone; overall: 74 cm (29 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1982.64

title:				Lovers (Mithuna)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1000s
creation date earliest:		1000
creation date latest:		1100
current location:		244 Indian and Southeast Asian
creditline:			Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	India, Madhya Pradesh, Khajuraho, Medieval period, Candella dynasty, 11th century
technique:	sandstone
department:	Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection:	Indian Art
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 74 cm (29 1/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The Year in Review for 1982
	opening date:   1983-01-05T05:00:00
	<i>The Year in Review for 1982</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 5-February 6, 1983).

	title:		Rings: Five Passions in World Art
	opening date:   1996-07-04T04:00:00
	<i>Rings: Five Passions in World Art</i>. High Museum of Art (organizer) (July 4-September 29, 1996).

	title:		Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art
	opening date:   2009-06-27T04:00:00
	<i>Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 27-August 23, 2009).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Pan Asian Collection
	date: 
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Robert H. Ellsworth [1929–2014], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: 1982
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1982–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:


digital description:


wall description:
Erotic imagery was a standard element on sacred monuments in India. Idealized lovers signal the auspiciousness of birth, prosperity of life, and the abundance of the created world, indicating to worshippers at the temple that their offerings and prayers would be fruitful and productive. The exaggerated size of their eyes, linearity of the facial features and ornaments, and the impossible twisting of their limbs and her body create an unnatural stylization that heightens the intensity of the scene, as the two figures seem effortlessly unified in their embrace.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. <em>Masterworks of Asian Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998.
	page number: 	Reproduced: pp. 142-143
	url:		

	May, Sally Ruth, Jane Takac, and Barbara J. Bradley. <em>Knockouts: A Pocket Guide</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001.
	page number: 	Reproduced:  no. 99, pp. 89-90; Mentioned: p. 119
	url:		

	Czuma, Stanislaw, "Great Acquisitions and Southeast Asian Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art," <em>Orientations</em> (Jan/Feb 2005), vol. 36, no. 1.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 85
	url:		

	Macnab, Maggie. <em>Decoding Design: Understanding and Using Symbols in Visual Communication: Discover the Hidden Meanings Inside Common Corporate Logos and Designs</em>. Cincinnati, Ohio: HOW Books, 2008.
	page number: 	Reproduced: Fig. 2.19
	url:		

	Franklin, David and C. Griffith Mann. <em>Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012.
	page number: 	Reproduced: pp. 84-85
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1982.64/1982.64_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1982.64/1982.64_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1982.64/1982.64_full.tif