The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 26, 2024
Roundel with Mermaids and Lotus
c. 100 BCE
(185–78 BCE)
Diameter: 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.); Overall: 2.5 cm (1 in.)
Location: 242A Ancient India
Description
This ivory disk was possibly part of a massive earring around which lobes were stretched so that they rest on the shoulders. Eight figures that are half woman and half fish hold hands in a ring around a series of concentric circles containing floral imagery. Their hands and tails make the repeated form of an auspicious trident-shaped symbol, often depicted with fish tails in combination with a lotus flower. The full-breasted forms, the tails, and the lotus flowers evoke the imagery of life-giving waters. A circle of eight female figures later comes to refer to the maidens of the eight directions of the sky (ashtadikpalikas).- ?–2010John Eskenazi Ltd., London, England, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art2010–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- {{cite web|title=Roundel with Mermaids and Lotus|url=false|author=|year=c. 100 BCE|access-date=26 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.295