Cleveland Museum of Art

Lovers (Mithuna)

Date

1000s

Medium

sandstone

Culture

India, Madhya Pradesh, Khajuraho, Medieval period, Candella dynasty, 11th century

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Erotic imagery was a standard element on sacred monuments in India. Idealized lovers signal the auspiciousness of birth, prosperity of life, and the abundance of the created world, indicating to worshippers at the temple that their offerings and prayers would be fruitful and productive. The exaggerated size of their eyes, linearity of the facial features and ornaments, and the impossible twisting of their limbs and her body create an unnatural stylization that heightens the intensity of the scene, as the two figures seem effortlessly unified in their embrace.

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