Cleveland Museum of Art

Nature Divinity (Yakshi) with Dwarf Hermaphrodite

Date

c. 100 BCE

Medium

terracotta

Culture

India, Shunga period (185–78 BCE)

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Nature divinities, or yakshis , are associated with the life-giving forces of plants, so her headdress includes a dramatic array of leaves and flowers. Her companion, a female figure with male genitalia, is a dwarf who has connections with the fecundity of the earth. Terracotta figurines were often venerated in domestic shrines for the ongoing prosperity of the family.

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