Head of a Yaksha in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2023

Title: Head of a Yaksha

Period: Shunga

Date: 1st century BCE

Culture: India, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh

Medium: Sandstone

Dimensions: H. 19 in. (48.2 cm); W. 15 3/4 in. (40 cm); D. 14 in. (35.6 cm)

Classification: Sculpture

Credit Line: Lent by Cleveland Museum of Art, Norma O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund

Object Number: TS.051

Rights and Reproduction: Courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art


Monumental yakshas, or nature deities, were a particular feature of the north Indian city of Mathura, the so-called City of the Gods that was a center of early religious artistic production. In its original state this figure would have exceeded ten feet in height, one of the largest recorded such images. His elaborate turban and pendant ear ornaments reflect the noble dress of the day. The most famous of the yakshas was Manibhadra, the wealth-protector, who carried a money purse as his defining identifier. He was likely the first truly pan-Indian yaksha, his devotees drawn from itinerant merchant communities. With the rise of monasteries, trade and craft guilds became major patrons of Buddhism; many guilds that traded along the Mathura highway are named in donor inscription.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/761657