Shalabhanjika (Woman and Tree)
300s-400s
Maker Unknown
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Shalabhanjika (Woman and Tree), 300s-400s. Northern India, Kashmir. Gray steatite; overall: 8 cm (3 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, James Parmelee Fund 1974.74 The full carving of a flowering tree on the back of this figurine indicates that she is a figure of a nature divinity who personifies the life-giving qualities of the sap that envigorates the tree and causes it to flower. These figures are sometimes called shalabhanjika, "she who breaks the tree," probably because her fertile properties are so powerful that it causes the tree to fruit so heavily that the branches break.
- Maker/Artist
- Maker Unknown
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Formatted Medium
- gray steatite
- Dimensions
- Overall: 8 cm (3 1/8 in.)
- Departments
- Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Accession Number
- 1974.74
- Credit Line
- James Parmelee Fund
- Exhibitions
- Year in Review: 1974
- Rights Statement
- CC0
Have a concern, a correction, or something to add?
