Fertility Goddess

Description

Female figures fashioned from terracotta were found at large man-made pools of water in early Buddhist sacred compounds. They indicate the importance of art and rites associated with fertility and childbirth among the Buddhist laity, of which women were a major component. The wreath, small breasts, and gentle modeling of her full-hipped body associate this figure with Greco-Roman imagery.

Provenance

(Ulrich von Schroeder [b. 1943], Zürich, Switzerland, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?-1977); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1977-)

Fertility Goddess

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100s CE

Accession Number

1977.58

Medium

terracotta

Dimensions

height: 26.7 cm (10 1/2 in.)

Classification

Sculpture

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund