The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Nature Divinity (Yakshi)

Nature Divinity (Yakshi)

c. 75 CE
(c. 20 BCE–114 CE)
mottled red sandstone
Overall: 127.6 x 49 x 25.4 cm (50 1/4 x 19 5/16 x 10 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1968.104
Location: 242A Ancient India

Did You Know?

The prominence of the peacock (enemy of serpents) on the back of her headdress suggests she has the power to protect against snakebite.

Description

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.
  • ?–1968
    (William H. Wolff, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1968–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 230 archive.org
    “Art of Asia Recently Acquired by American Museums, 1968.” Archives of Asian Art, vol. 23, 1969, pp. 58–87. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 62, fig. 13 20111014
    Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1968." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 56, no. 1 (1969): 3-50. Mentioned: no. 157, pp. 3 and 50; Reproduced: no. 157, p. 30 www.jstor.org
    Dwivedi, Vinod P. “Mathura Art in the Museums of the United States of America.” Journal of Indian Museums, 1973, pp. 25–26. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 25–26, fig. 4
    Czuma, Stanislaw. “Mathura Sculpture in the Cleveland Museum Collection.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 64, no. 3, 1977, pp. 83–114. Reproduced: p. 89, figs. 8 and 9 25152680
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 289 archive.org
    Czuma, Stanislaw J., and Rekha Morris. Kushan Sculpture: Images from Early India. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1985. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 26, p. 85
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 15 archive.org
    "A Walking Tour." Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 54 no. 01, January/February 2014. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 33 and 45 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Museum Masters: 2016-17 Companion Guide. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 35
    Sengupta, Arputha Rani. Buddhist Jewels in Mortuary Cult: Magic Symbols. Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan, 2019. Reproduced: Vol. 1, P. 107, fig. 2.81; Mentioned: P. 110-111
  • Kushan Sculpture: Images from Early India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 13, 1985-January 5, 1986).
    Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).
    Year in Review: 1968. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 29-March 9, 1969).
  • {{cite web|title=Nature Divinity (Yakshi)|url=false|author=|year=c. 75 CE|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1968.104