The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 22, 2024

Shalabhanjika (Woman and Tree)

Shalabhanjika (Woman and Tree)

300s–400s CE
Location: not on view

Description

The full carving of a flowering tree on the back of this figurine indicates that she is a figure of a nature divinity who personifies the life-giving qualities of the sap that envigorates the tree and causes it to flower. These figures are sometimes called shalabhanjika, "she who breaks the tree," probably because her fertile properties are so powerful that it causes the tree to fruit so heavily that the branches break.
  • Year in Review: 1974. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 11-April 6, 1975).
  • {{cite web|title=Shalabhanjika (Woman and Tree)|url=false|author=|year=300s–400s CE|access-date=22 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1974.74