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A rectangular red sandstone relief sculpture that is broken into three vertical sections. Each section shows two people at the center in between a pair of columns and a person on each side. There are carved swirl details at the top of each section.

The sandstone relief sculpture is rectangular in shape and medium-brown in color. The relief is sectioned off into three vertical spaces on top of each other. Each section has a swirled detail at the top and four columns going down. There is a man and a woman standing or dancing at the center in between two columns. There is a person on each side also framed by a column. All of the people are dressed in detailed necklaces, belts, arm bands, and bead garlands.

Gallery Text

The figures on these panels appear to represent divine couples (mithuna), celestial females (apsarases), and women making offerings to a male ascetic figure or demigod. These divine beings are considered auspicious, and their presence on the exterior walls of temples is said to secure blessings and protection for the sacred space inside.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1974.56
Title
Architectural Relief with Figures (Fragment of a Column)
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture, relief
Date
9th century-10th century
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India, Rajasthan
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/202414

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2590, South Asian Art, South Asia in the Medieval and Early Modern Eras
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
Red sandstone; from Rajasthan
Dimensions
H. 80 x W. 30.8 x D. 11.2 cm (31 1/2 x 12 1/8 x 4 7/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Mr. and Mrs. Howard E. Houston, (by 1974), gift; to Fogg Art Museum, 1974.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Howard E. Houston
Accession Year
1974
Object Number
1974.56
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Commentary
Label text from exhibition “Re-View,” an overview of objects drawn from the collections of Harvard Art Museums, 26 April 2008 – 1 July 2013; label text written by Kim Masteller, Assistant Curator of Islamic and Later Indian Art, Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art:

Architectural Relief with Figures (Fragment of a Column)
India, Rajasthan, 9th–10th century
Red sandstone
Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Howard E. Houston, 1974.56

Upon crossing the threshold into an Indian temple, worshippers are greeted by a myriad of deities. From the Gupta period (third–early sixth century) onward, the jambs on either side of the door have often been decorated with groups of figures set into stacks of architecturally ornamented registers. These groups frequently depict divine couples, known as mithuna, which are represented in the smaller panel to the right. The figures on the left panel appear to include combinations of mithuna, apsaras (celestial females), and a donative scene of two women making offerings to a male ascetic figure, possibly a form of the god Shiva or one of his devotees. These divine beings are considered auspicious, and their presence on doorways is said to secure blessings and protection for the sacred space inside.

Exhibition History

  • S424: Indian and Southeast Asian Sculpture, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/20/1985 - 08/01/2008
  • Re-View: Arts of India & the Islamic Lands, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/26/2008 - 06/01/2013
  • 32Q: 2590 South and Southeast Asia, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu