Pair of panels with semi-divinities known as yakshis Artist: Unknown

2nd–3rd century

Asian Art

On view, 2nd floor, Asian Art

Known as yakshis, beautiful women symbolizing the powers of nature and the earth appear in all Indian religious traditions, including Buddhism. The gestures of the women and the leaves clutched in their hands refer to the long-standing belief that the touch of a fertile young woman can cause a tree to blossom spontaneously.

Medium

Gray schist

Dimensions

13 × 4 1/2 × 1 9/16 in. (33 × 11.5 × 4 cm)

Credit Line

Purchased with a gift from the John and Evelyn Kossak Foundation, Inc.

Accession Number

2017.63.1.1-.2

Geography

Pakistan

Culture

Pakistan, ancient kingdom of Gandhara

Period

Kushan period (ca. late 1st–early 4th century)

Classification

Sculpture

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Private collection, Lahore, Pakistan, 1960s; by descent to private collection, New York, 1995; sale, Christie’s, New York, March 15, 2017, lot 242; sold to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2017
This work appears on our "Antiquities and Archaeological Material with Provenance Documentation Gaps" page.
Bibliography
  • "Acquisitions July 1, 2016–June 30, 2017," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2017), 21
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States

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