The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Bulletin
The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Bulletin
The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Bulletin
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<strong>The</strong> plaque below is one <strong>of</strong> the largest and most important<br />
early Indian terracottas known. <strong>The</strong> identity <strong>of</strong> the main figure,<br />
the principal subject <strong>of</strong> a number <strong>of</strong> such early Indian plaques,<br />
is uncertain. Elsewhere I have suggested that she is an early<br />
iconic depiction <strong>of</strong> the goddess Durga, who was not thought<br />
to be represented prior to the third century. After this date<br />
Durga is usually shown, in a narrative format, as the slayer <strong>of</strong><br />
the buffalo demon, Mahisha, her multiple hands holding a<br />
bevy <strong>of</strong> weapons. Here, she displays a more pacific mien, her<br />
arsenal stuck into her coiffure like hairpins.<br />
Our plaque shows the goddess with female attendants and<br />
male() supplicants within a shrine(). Two columns with<br />
lotus capitals bearing atlantid figures, most probably yaksas<br />
(male deities associated with the earth's bounty), support the<br />
ro<strong>of</strong>. A small gandharva (a man-bird demigod) flies down<br />
from the upper right, his open hands undoubtedly indicating<br />
that he has tossed some <strong>of</strong> the small flowers that pattern the<br />
background. Durga stands with her left hand on her hip, her<br />
right pouring a substance into a bowl held by a supplicant.<br />
Female attendants shield her with a parasol, hold fans <strong>of</strong><br />
peacock feathers(), and support a large standard(). <strong>The</strong> head<br />
<strong>of</strong> a kneeling supplicant is seen at the right.<br />
<strong>The</strong> function <strong>of</strong> these plaques is unknown. <strong>The</strong>y may have<br />
been <strong>of</strong>ferings or icons for personal devotion.<br />
SMK<br />
1990.z31I<br />
INDIAN<br />
ART<br />
Plaque with a Proto-Durga and Attendants<br />
India (West Bengal, Chandraketugarh[]), Shunga period,<br />
ist century B.C.<br />
Terracotta<br />
Height, io/, in. (z6.7 cm)<br />
Purchase, Herbert and Florence Irving Gift, i990o<br />
I990.z8I<br />
93