The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 24, 2025

Double-Faced Crossbar from a Railing: Male Worshipper (recto)

c. 150 BCE

India, Madhya Pradesh, Bharhut, Shunga period

plum-colored sandstone
Overall: 55.9 x 66 cm (22 x 26 in.)
The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 1982.44.a
Location: 242A Ancient India

Description

A well-dressed male figure, probably a nature divinity known as a yaksha, presses his hands together in a gesture of veneration in the center of the lotus medallion. An inscription in Brahmi script states that this section of the railing was the gift of a man named Mitra.
  • ?-1982
    The Pan-Asian Collection, New York, NY
    ?–1982
    (Robert H. Ellsworth [1929–2014], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1982–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • 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: cat. no. 1
    Lee, Sherman E. "Year in Review for 1982." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 70, no. 1 (1983): 3-55. Mentioned: no. 99, pp. 26 and 53 www.jstor.org
    Clarke, Victoria. Flower: Exploring the World in Bloom. London; New York: Phaidon Press Limited, 2020. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 274
  • The Sensuous Immortals. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (October 25, 1977–January 15, 1978); Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA (March 9–April 1978); Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO (May 26–July 30, 1978); Nelson Atkins Gallery, Kansas City, MO (September 15–October 29, 1978).
  • {{cite web|title=Double-Faced Crossbar from a Railing: Male Worshipper (recto)|url=false|author=|year=c. 150 BCE|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1982.44.a