Unknown
Mother Goddess and Childcirca 500-550

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Stone sculpture of a standing woman in draped garment holding a small nude child to her shoulder, with a flat circular disk behind her head, on a rectangular base

Stone sculpture of a standing woman in long skirt and head covering, holding a small child against her chest, on a rough-hewn rectangular base; weathered gray surface with visible tool marks.

Stone sculpture of a standing woman holding a small child against her chest, wearing draped garments and jewelry, with a large circular halo behind her head, mounted on a rectangular plinth; weathered gray stone with smooth carved surfaces.

Stone sculpture of a standing figure viewed from behind, arms raised to balance a large circular disk overhead, mounted on a rectangular base, with rough-hewn textured surface throughout.

Stone sculpture of a standing female figure with a circular halo, holding a small child raised to her face, draped cloth around the lower body, dark patina with greenish weathering.

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Mother Goddess and Child
Place Made: India, Rajasthan, Tanesar-Mahadeva
Date Made: circa 500-550
Medium: Foliated dark green schist
Dimensions: 30 x 10 x 6 in. (76.2 x 25.4 x 15.24 cm)
Credit Line: From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase
Accession Number: M.82.42.2
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: This elegant representation of a mother goddess (matrika) and her divine child, its set mate M.82.42.1, and a now-dispersed group of more than a dozen additional mother goddesses, as well as images of Ganesha, Karttikeya, and possibly Shiva were reportedly discovered around 1957 by R. C. Agrawala (b. 1926) near the modern Tanesar (Thaneshvara) Mahadeva Temple near Udaipur, Rajasthan. The goddesses may have been from more than one set originally and some may represent the mythological mothers of Skanda (Skandamatas or Krittikas). The dispersed sculptures are now located in the National Museum, New Delhi; City Palace Museum, Udaipur (147); Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College (69.62); British Museum, London (1963,1112.1); Cleveland Museum of Art (1970.12); and formerly the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

This goddess stands carrying her child resting against her right shoulder. She wears a floral tiara and her upper garment is worn as a head scarf. The child is trying to play with one of the flowers, causing the goddess to turn her head away. The back of the sculpture is unfinished.
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Sculpture, vol.1. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1986.
Rosenfield, John. The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.
Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Aspects of Indian Art: Papers Presented in a Symposium at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Leiden, The Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1972.
Michell, George. Hindu Art and Architecture. London: Thames & Hudson, 2000.
Pal, Pratapaditya; Dehejia, Vidya; Slusser, Mary Shepherd; Fisher, Robert E.; Brown, Robert L. Arts of Asia 15 (6): 68-125 (November- December 1985).
Rod-ari, Melody. "The Pacific Rim: connecting peoples, collecting histories. The formation of South and Southeast Asian art collections in Los Angeles." Journal of the History of Collections 28 no.3 (2016): 479-492.

Unknown
Mother Goddess and Childcirca 500-550

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Mother Goddess and Child
Place Made: India, Rajasthan, Tanesar-Mahadeva
Date Made: circa 500-550
Medium: Foliated dark green schist
Dimensions: 30 x 10 x 6 in. (76.2 x 25.4 x 15.24 cm)
Credit Line: From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase
Accession Number: M.82.42.2
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: This elegant representation of a mother goddess (matrika) and her divine child, its set mate M.82.42.1, and a now-dispersed group of more than a dozen additional mother goddesses, as well as images of Ganesha, Karttikeya, and possibly Shiva were reportedly discovered around 1957 by R. C. Agrawala (b. 1926) near the modern Tanesar (Thaneshvara) Mahadeva Temple near Udaipur, Rajasthan. The goddesses may have been from more than one set originally and some may represent the mythological mothers of Skanda (Skandamatas or Krittikas). The dispersed sculptures are now located in the National Museum, New Delhi; City Palace Museum, Udaipur (147); Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College (69.62); British Museum, London (1963,1112.1); Cleveland Museum of Art (1970.12); and formerly the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

This goddess stands carrying her child resting against her right shoulder. She wears a floral tiara and her upper garment is worn as a head scarf. The child is trying to play with one of the flowers, causing the goddess to turn her head away. The back of the sculpture is unfinished.
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Sculpture, vol.1. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1986.
Rosenfield, John. The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.
Pal, Pratapaditya, ed. Aspects of Indian Art: Papers Presented in a Symposium at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Leiden, The Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1972.
Michell, George. Hindu Art and Architecture. London: Thames & Hudson, 2000.
Pal, Pratapaditya; Dehejia, Vidya; Slusser, Mary Shepherd; Fisher, Robert E.; Brown, Robert L. Arts of Asia 15 (6): 68-125 (November- December 1985).
Rod-ari, Melody. "The Pacific Rim: connecting peoples, collecting histories. The formation of South and Southeast Asian art collections in Los Angeles." Journal of the History of Collections 28 no.3 (2016): 479-492.