Relief from a Carved Processional Car
Artist/Maker
Indian
, probably South Indian
Datelate 19th century
MediumTinted wood
DimensionsOverall: 24 3/8 × 12 × 3 1/16 in. (61.9 × 30.5 × 7.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Dea Jean Kinsey (OC 1961)
Object number1963.19
Status
On viewThis wood sculpture is a panel that was once part of the decoration of a processional cart (rátha), used to carry a Hindu icon outside of a temple to allow darshan. The figure is Ganga, the Hindu goddess who personifies the holy river Ganga, also called the Ganges. She can be identified by what she rides, a makara. These mythical creatures combine elements from various other animals, here an elephant’s trunk and a lion’s body. On processional carts and in architectural decorations, Ganga was often paired with another river goddess, Yamuna, who personifies the Yamuna River, a tributary of the Ganges. Both goddesses often flanked doorways as guardians and greeters.
The image of a woman grasping the branch of a tree is also an ancient subject in India, based on very early images of yakshi or yakshini, a type of female nature deity associated with fertility and the bounty of the natural world.
Collections
- On View
- Asian
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19th century
late 19th–early 20th century
9th–10th century
late 19th–early 20th century
10th–11th century
19th century
19th century
1st century CE
late 19th–early 20th century
late 19th–early 20th century