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| Celestial Entertainer |
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| India, Rajasthan or Uttar Pradesh; 11th century |
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| Sandstone |
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| H. 21 1/4 in. (54 cm) |
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| Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection of Asian Art |
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| 1979.033 |
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| Entertainers, particularly beautiful women, are among the most common images on Hindu temples. They entertain the gods and designate the area within as a special palace or heaven, where music and dance are available. This figure twists dramatically in a dance pose and lifts one hand above her head to touch some fruit, which two small monkeys are eating. The combination of a voluptuous woman and a tree appears in Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain art, primarily as a symbol of fertility. The three-dimensionality of this image suggests that it may once have served as a bracket figure for a pillar, probably in the interior of a temple. |
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