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Mar 25, 2013

Head of a Bodhisattva

late 1st - early 2nd century

India, Mathura, Kushan Period

(1st century-320)

Red sandstone

Overall: 50.8 x 25.4 cm (20 x 10 in.)

Gift of Robert H. Ellsworth in memory of Christian Humann 1984.220

Location

242A Ancient India

Description

This monumental male head must have originally belonged to a larger-than-life Bodhisattva image. The imposing turban is of the type worn by royalty, divinities, and nobility during the Kushan period from the first through third century. The round, fleshy face, heightened by a subtle smile, retains the powerful quality of early Kushan and pre-Kushan images of nature divinities, known as yakshas.

Provenance

?–1984

Robert H. Ellsworth [1929–2014], New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1984–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1984." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 72, no. 2 (1985): 163-207. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 162, p. 206 www.jstor.org

Pal, Pratapaditya. The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1977. Mentioned and Reproduced: fig. 3

Heeramaneck, Alice N. Masterpieces of Indian Sculpture: From the Former Collections of Nasli M. Heeramaneck, Introduction and Descriptive Catalogue. [Place of publication not identified]: A.N. Heeramaneck, 1979. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 25

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. 20, p. 80

Exhibition history

Year in Review for 1984. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 3-May 5, 1985).

The Twain Shall Meet. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 30, 1985-January 5, 1986).

Kushan Sculpture: Images from Early India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 13, 1985-January 5, 1986).

Buddha in India. Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (organizer) (April 2-July 16, 1995).

Buddha. Tobu Museum of Art (April 11-June 28, 1998); Nara National Museum (July 11-August 30, 1998); Nagoya City Art Museum (September 9-October 11, 1998).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Head of a Bodhisattva|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1984.220|year=late 1st - early 2nd century|access-date=30 March 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Head of a Bodhisattva

Head of a Bodhisattva

India, Mathura, Kushan Period

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