Vase with Figural Decoration

CultureIndian

Date2nd-1st century B.C.E.

MediumMolded and carved terracotta

DimensionsOverall: 29 1/4 × 5 1/4 inches (74.3 × 13.34 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the George H. and Elizabeth O. Davis Fund

Object number2009.54

On View

On view

Collections

South and Southeast Asian Art

Terms

DescriptionThis vase from the ancient culture of Chandraketugarh in India is tall and slender, with a wider round base. The vase is hollow throughout, and the projecting conical foot suggests that it may have extended further at one time. The vase is heavily decorated in relief by carved figures and vegetal imagery. The body of the vase is divided into two registers, separated by a band of squatting figures. The lower register on the bowl of the vessel includes scenes from a palace, the first of which shows a woman walking through an enclosed garden with an umbrella held over her head, observed by three figures concealed by foliage looking over the wall. Another scene depicts a male figure reclining on a charpoy (bed) while a further scene presents a couple seated at ease. A number of female attendants surround these figure groups, all of whom face forwards. Between the bowl and neck of the vessel is a horizontal band depicting a number of squatting male yakshas (nature spirits). Above this the neck is filled with winged goddesses standing or seated on lotus flowers. The lip of the vessel is gently flared and the upper rim is bordered by a band of lotus petals.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Adam Williams Fine Art, Ltd. New York, March 2009.

Gallery Label

Princes and palace attendants, crouching demigods and winged goddesses entwined in lotus stalks inhabit the richly carved surface of this elegant vessel.

Created over 2,000 years ago, this vase is the product of a vibrant civilization that flourished at Chandraketugarh in the Ganges River delta. While no stone sculpture or architecture has yet been discovered from this civilization, masterfully carved and molded ceramics, like this example, attest to the skill of the Chandraketugarh artists and their interconnectedness with other ancient art traditions of North India.

Provenance

Private collection, Allahabad, India, late 1980’s-1999;

John Eskenazi Ltd., London, 1999-2009;

Purchased from John Eskenazi Ltd. by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2009.

Published References

Robert Cohon et al. Ceramics: Highlights from the Collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2016), 36-37, (repro.).

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