The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of May 11, 2024
Winged Atlas-Hercules
200s CE
Overall: 38.1 cm (15 in.)
Location: 242A Ancient India
Did You Know?
This figure combines the attributes of Atlas, Hercules, and Vajrapani.Description
In Buddhist art of the Gandharan region during the time of heightened contact with the Mediterranean world, the figure of Atlas was adopted, but given wings so as to appear superhuman. This figure has been conflated with the image of Hercules, who wears the skin of the Nemean lion, and relieved Atlas of his duties for a short time. Repeated images of composite Atlas-like figures surrounded the base of the monuments called stupas, which were solid domes, and can be understood as symbols for the sky, which would have appeared as though supported by rows of titanic figures. Other examples of this figure hold a thunderbolt (vajra) in one hand, suggesting that he could also allude to Vajrapani, an early protector divinity of the Buddha. Images of Vajrapani can combine attributes of Hercules, Zeus, and Hermes.- March 25, 1999(Sotheby's New York, NY, March 25, 1999, lot 135, sold to John Eskenazi)March 25, 1999-?(John Eskenazi, London, UK, sold to Maxeen Stone Flower)-2011Dr. John and Maxeen Stone Flower [1928-2010], Shaker Heights, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art2011-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Xu, Jin. "Monsters on an Imperial Stone Base: Reconstructing Seven Stone Panels from Xiangtangshan." Orientations 55, no. 1 (January/February 2024): 12-20. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 20, fig. 12
- {{cite web|title=Winged Atlas-Hercules|url=false|author=|year=200s CE|access-date=11 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2011.136