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Male Head, possibly a Yaksha
c. 3rd Century BC
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
The large turban and earring suggest that this head may have belonged to a <em>yaksha</em>, a nature divinity worshipped for wealth and prosperity. The small scale and terracotta material imply that it may have been installed on a domestic shrine. The naturalism of the fleshy face and parted mouth are stylistic features of sculptures from the Maurya period, and this work was found at the Maurya capital of Pataliputra.
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Details
- Title: Male Head, possibly a Yaksha
- Date Created: c. 3rd Century BC
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.)
- Provenance: (Galerie Ariane Faye, Paris, France, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Sculpture
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1986.72
- Medium: terracotta
- Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Culture: Northeastern India, Bihar, Patna, Bulandibagh
- Credit Line: Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
- Collection: Indian Art - Maurya
- Accession Number: 1986.72
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