Rijksmuseum

Heavenly beauty

Date

c. 1100 - c. 1200

Medium

slate (rock)

Institution

Rijksmuseum

The body of this heavenly beauty (apsara) is laden with jewellery, which has been meticulously carved. This is characteristic of the period in which the sculpture was made, during the reign of the Hoysala dynasty (11th-14th century). The outer walls of Hoysala temples are almost entirely covered with sculptures, and this figure would have formed part of the sumptuous decoration on the outside of one such temple.

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