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Nature Divinity (Yakshi)

c. 75 CE

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

This powerful figure personifies the ideal of the young mother in the form of a nature goddess associated with birth and nourishment. Her iconic stance with the weight equally distributed on both feet indicates that this statue was an object of worship. Her extraordinary headdress, well preserved in the back, and full complement of jewels and ornaments, point to the idea of wealth, which leads to prosperity.

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Learn more about this artwork.
  • Title: Nature Divinity (Yakshi)
  • Date Created: c. 75 CE
  • Physical Dimensions: Overall: 127.6 x 49 x 25.4 cm (50 1/4 x 19 5/16 x 10 in.)
  • Provenance: (William H. Wolff, 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/1968.104
  • Medium: mottled red sandstone
  • Fun Fact: The prominence of the peacock (enemy of serpents) on the back of her headdress suggests she has the power to protect against snakebite.
  • Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
  • Culture: India, Mathura, Kshatrapa period (c. 20 BCE–114 CE)
  • Credit Line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
  • Collection: Indian Art - Kushan, Mathura
  • Accession Number: 1968.104
The Cleveland Museum of Art

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