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Amorous Couple (Mithuna)
400s
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
Amorous couples were among the most prevalent imagery on the exterior of sacred sites in early India. Their life-affirming imagery was considered auspicious. This roundel would have been part of a brick structure, since terracotta was typically used in the ornamentation of brick temples, instead of stone.
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Details
- Title: Amorous Couple (Mithuna)
- Date Created: 400s
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 38.5 x 37 cm (15 3/16 x 14 9/16 in.)
- Provenance: (J.J. Klejman [1906–1995], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Sculpture
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1971.133
- Medium: terracotta
- Fun Fact: The site of Ahichchatra retains ruins of a pyramid-shaped brick temple dedicated to Shiva.
- Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Culture: Northern India, Uttar Pradesh, Ahichchatra, Gupta period (c. 320-550)
- Credit Line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Collection: Indian Art
- Accession Number: 1971.133
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