Royal couple standing under a tree

Accession Number
1980/2.292

Title
Royal couple standing under a tree

Artist(s)
Indian

Artist Nationality
Indian (South Asian)

Object Creation Date
3rd century - 4th century

Medium & Support
mottled pink sandstone

Dimensions
11 1/4 in x 13 in x 3 1/2 in (28.58 cm x 33.02 cm x 8.89 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Leo S. Figiel and Dr. and Mrs. Steven J. Figiel

Label copy
The mottled pink sandstone of this fragmentary relief identifies its origins in the quarries of Sikri, a site in north central India that lies near to the major pilgrimage center of Mathura. From the first through third centuries, this region was the source of great innovation in sculpted imagery for all three of the major religions of the Indian subcontinent at that time: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.
The charming couple presented here are a crowned king, who holds up his right hand in a gesture of reassurance, and his consort, who is in the guise of a nature goddess, holding an auspicious pot. The pair probably represents the parents of one of the jinas, the “spiritual victors” of Jainism.
Exhibited in "Divine Encounters, Earthly Pleasures: Twenty Centuries of Indian Art," 12/12/03-2/22/04.

Primary Object Classification
Sculpture

Primary Object Type
figure

Additional Object Classification(s)
Sculpture

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
couples
men (male humans)
royalty (nobility)

3 Related Resources

Before 1492
(Part of 3 Learning Collections)
Buddhism
(Part of 2 Learning Collections)
Marriage
(Part of 8 Learning Collections)

& Author Notes

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