Two box panels with mithuna couples

Art Historical Context

These two ivory panels from late 17th- to early 18th-century Tamil Nadu depict mithuna couples—amorous male and female figures that symbolize love, fertility, and the harmonious union of opposites in Indian artistic traditions. Carved from delicate ivory and backed with gilded paper, the small sculptures (just over five by eight inches) were likely once part of a luxurious box or container. Their intimate scale and refined detail suggest they were created for a wealthy household, where such objects blended utility with aesthetic pleasure. In South Indian culture of this period, mithuna imager...