Tile with Ascetics, Figures on Balconies, and Ducks Artist: Unknown

5th–6th century C.E.

Asian Art

On view, 2nd floor, Asian Art

This image, showing two ascetics practicing while others converse on a balcony and waterfowl frolic in a lotus pond, is typical of the tiles that once decorated the sides of an apsidal temple at the site of Harwan in the Kashmir region. Representations of naked and emaciated practitioners are not generally found in contemporaneous Buddhist imagery outside of Harwan, which suggests that the site may illustrate the melding of earlier traditions with others that led to the development of later esoteric Buddhism, known for its more austere practices.

Medium

Earthenware (terracotta)

Dimensions

21 1/8 × 11 15/16 × 2 3/8 in. (53.6 × 30.3 × 6 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Evelyn Kranes Kossak

Accession Number

2019.43.1

Geography

Harwan, Kashmir, India

Culture

Indian, ancient kingdom of Harwan

Period

Gupta period (ca. 320–ca. 600 C.E.)

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
Heeramaneck Collection; sale, Sotheby's, New York, September, 1985; sold to Evelyn Kranes Kossak, New York; given to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2018

Bibliography
  • "Selected Acquisitions," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2019), 110, ill
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

figures (representations), relief, tiles

Subject

Buddhism ascetics balconies ducks (birds) earrings flowers (plants) men sitting temples

Technical metadata and APIs

IIIF

Open in Mirador

View IIIF manifest

The International Image Interoperability Framework, or IIIF, is an open standard for delivering high-quality, attributed digital objects online at scale. Visit iiif.io to learn more

Linked Art

API response for this object

Linked Art is a Community working together to create a shared Model based on Linked Open Data to describe Art.