Male Head, possibly a Yaksha
Unknown Artist
300s BCE
Medium
terracotta
Dimensions
h. 10.5 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
Accession Number
1986.72
About this artwork
The large turban and earring suggest that this head may have belonged to a yaksha, a nature divinity worshipped for wealth and prosperity. The small scale and terracotta material imply that it may have been installed on a domestic shrine. The naturalism of the fleshy face and parted mouth are stylistic features of sculptures from the Maurya period, and this work was found at the Maurya capital of Pataliputra.