The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 4, 2022

Head of a Yaksha

c. 125 BC

Northern India, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura, Shunga Period

(c. 187-78 BC)

Mottled red sandstone

Overall: 48.2 x 40 x 35.6 cm (19 x 15 3/4 x 14 in.)

Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 1962.45

Location

242A Ancient India

Description

Colossal statues of yakshas, male divinities who personify the productive forces of nature, were especially popular in the northern Indian region around the ancient city of Mathura. They were installed in shrines in parks and gardens, often associated with extraordinary trees. The red sandstone is from a nearby quarry, called Sikri.

Provenance
?-1962
(William H. Wolff, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1962-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
The Art of India; Stone Sculpture. [New York, Tokyo]: The Asia Society, 1962. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 15
Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review 1962.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 49, no. 9, 1962, pp. 199–227. Mentioned: no. 68, p. 224 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 228 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 228 archive.org
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. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 84-85 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 287 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 11 archive.org
Morris, Rekha, "Sense and Sensitivity: Sherman Lee's Impact on the Collection of North Indian Sculpture at the Cleveland Museum of Art," Orientations, vol. 36, no.1, p. 88-93. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 88
Exhibition history

Year in Review - 1962. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.45