This lid of a large jar, perhaps used for storing rice, is graced with an image of Dewi Sri (Shri Devi), who is revered as the goddess of rice, fertility, and prosperity. The slender youthful goddess appears to rise out of a flooded paddy field. She wears a five-point crown, regal jewelry, and a sarong. Her hands appear to perform dancing gestures, with her extended left hand holding a billowing stalk of rice (padi) to signify her role as a goddess of agricultural abundance. The attendant behind her carries an honorific parasol (chattra) over her head to convey her divinity and importance. Flanking her are two kneeling worshippers with their hands held in the gesture of veneration (anjali mudra). On the right side of the lid, is a writhing rice paddy snake (Hypsiscopus plumbea), known in Indonesian as the Ular Sawah (Rice Field Snake). In Javanese mythology, it is believed to be the embodiment or loyal companion of Dewi Sri.
For a comparable Eastern Javanese earthenware head of a princess wearing a five-point crown and similar hoop earrings, see H. R. A. Muller, Javanese Terracottas: Terra Incognita (Lochem, The Netherlands: Tijdstroom, 1978), p. 40, pl. 73. See also M.90.150.