Nagini (Serpent Queen or Consort of Nagaraja)
Unknown Artist
second quarter of the 5th century
Medium
Stone
Dimensions
H. 34 1/2 in. (87.6 cm)
Classification
Sculpture
Culture & Period
India (Madhya Pradesh) · Gupta period
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Evelyn Kossak, The Kronos Collections, 1987
Accession Number
1987.415.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the graceful *Nagini (Serpent Queen or Cons of Nagaraja)*, stunning stone sculpture from India's Gupta period (second quarter of the th century), hailing from Madhya Pradesh.ved from stone to a height of 34½ inches, this work captures a mythical female serpent deity, consort to the serpent king Nagaraja. In mythology, nagas were revered as powerful guardians of water, fertility, and the underworld, often worshipped for protection against evil. Created during the Gupta era—India's "Golden Age" of art—this piece exemplifies the period's classical refinement. Gupta sculptors mastered ston...