The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 23, 2025

Miniature Female Head

100s CE

India, Mathura, Kushan period

sandstone
Overall: 11.5 cm (4 1/2 in.)
Gift of Mrs. Eleanor Everett in memory of Mr. Morris Everett 1993.240
Location: Not on view

Description

Against the backdrop of the large-scale monumental sculpture for which the Mathura school is justly noted, this miniature head may appear insignificant; however, it exemplifies on a diminutive scale qualities of style and execution that not only parallel developments noticeable on monumental sculpture but also reflect a certain freedom of treatment of facial details that clearly denotes that while the artist worked in a minor key, the creation was neither inconsequential nor a sequacious rendering of the major sculptural trends of large-scale sculptures from Mathura. This small female head is comparable to the yaksi in the CMA's 1965.250 in several readily apparent details of form and type. The dual strands of the large-beaded necklace, the oversized ear ornament, and the hairstyle with the lalatika in the circular, severely defined central section of the coiffure are reductive echoes of the larger sculpture that clearly suggest an analogous date for this head. While repeating some of the features of the yaksi, this small head retains an individuality and distinctness by means of fine details such as the indented secondary line defining the upper lip of the slightly parted mouth and the chiseled clarity of the nose and brows of this sloe-eyed image. The fullness of the facial planes and the sensuous curves of the full, lower lip, while accentuating by contrast the almost metallic quality of the eye and nose, also quite compellingly link this head with the larger yaksis.
  • ?–1993
    Mr. Morris Everett Sr. [1910–1993] and Mrs. Eleanor Egan Everett [1911–2012], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1993–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • “1993 Annual Report.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 6 (July 1994): 143–218. Mentioned: p. 158 www.jstor.org
  • {{cite web|title=Miniature Female Head|url=false|author=|year=100s CE|access-date=23 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1993.240