Tree spirit (yakshi salabhanjika)

2nd century CE

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

This double-sided strut from a stupa gateway at Mathura is adorned on both faces with a tree spirit (vrksadevata), a bountiful female nature-spirit (yakshi) who grasps the flowering branch of a sala tree. Her pose invokes the power of nature; in other versions she kicks the trunk, causing the tree to flower and bear fruit. Yakshis embodied notions of feminine beauty and fertility in early India, and the prevalence of their cult is suggested by references in Vedic as well as early Jain and Buddhist sources, all of which name them as the presiding deities of specific locations. These yakshis belong to a relatively short-lived tradition of stupa gateway building.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Tree spirit (yakshi salabhanjika)
Period: Kushana
Date: 2nd century CE
Culture: India, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
Medium: Mottled red sandstone
Dimensions: H. 20 11/16 in. (52.5 cm); W. 9 7/16 in. (24 cm); D. 7 5/16 in. (18.5 cm)
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: Lent by Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Curatorial Department: Asian Art