ticketsMember | Make a donation
English

Patravahaka yaksha

ca. 50 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 234
This nature-spirit personification—a yaksha—is a sculptural tour de force. He is a commanding presence, wearing a finely detailed hairband and a heavy necklace distinguished by back-to-back makaras (mythological sea monsters) framing a central jewel. His powerful chest gives way to a corpulent stomach, emblematic of wealth, that hangs over his tightly drawn knotted waist-sash. Such a fully realized figure, with equally pronounced musculature on the reverse, marks an important moment in the early development of Indian freestanding sculpture. The raised arms suggest that he had a caryatid- or architectural load-bearing-type function. He likely held aloft a sculpted bowl filled with intoxicating liquids and perhaps the ritual drink soma. Yakshas of this type would have been honored by name, but few have their identities preserved.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Patravahaka yaksha
  • Period: Shunga period
  • Date: ca. 50 BCE
  • Culture: India, Madhya Pradesh
  • Medium: Sandstone
  • Dimensions: H. 35 in. (88.9 cm); W. 18 in. (45.7 cm); D. 13 in. (33 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Jeffrey B. Soref, in honor of Martin Lerner, 1988
  • Object Number: 1988.354
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Goddess who bestows riches, probably Sri Lakshmi, Molded terracotta, India, Chandraketugarh, West Bengal
Goddess who bestows riches, probably Sri Lakshmi
India, Chandraketugarh, West Bengal
1st century BCE
Plaque with Goddess and Attendant, Terracotta, India
Plaque with Goddess and Attendant
India
ca. 100 BCE
Disk Stone with a Four-Part Tracery Design of Palmettes, Stone, India
Disk Stone with a Four-Part Tracery Design of Palmettes
India
1st century BCE
Plaque with Erotic Scene, Bone, India
Plaque with Erotic Scene
India
1st century BCE
Shard with Three Goddesses, Terracotta, India
Shard with Three Goddesses
India
ca. 3rd century BCE

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Showing 4 of 18

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.