Two Beautiful Women (Surasundari) Dressing with an Attendant
10th/11th century
Medium
Sandstone
Dimensions
48.1 × 29.9 × 14.4 cm (19 × 11 3/4 × 5 11/16 in.)
Classification
stone (unidentified)
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
130622
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This sculpture of semidivine women, likely intended for the exterior of a temple, illustrates how the sacred and the sensuous are intertwined in Hinduism. Such figures of female abundance—with full breasts and wide hips, wearing heavy jewelry—are associated with fertility and prosperity. These women are engaged in adorning themselves: one uses a mirror to apply vermilion to the part atop her head, and another wrings water from her long hair. Their idealized forms infused the temple and surroundi...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...