- Title
- Plaque with a Rampant Leonine Creature (yali or vyala)
- Date Made
- 17th century
- Medium
- Patinated ivory
- Dimensions
- 4 7/8 x 3 x 1/4 in. (12.38 x 7.62 x .64 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.80.232.2
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Although also found in some north Indian temples, the mythical leonine creature (yāli or vyāla) is the south Indian temple guardian par excellence with an architectural and artistic heritage extending over a millennium. Often incorporated into zoomorphic temple pillars or pilasters, these semidivine sentinels stand guard over temple entryways and thresholds to demarcate and protect the sacred space within. During the Nāyak period (early 16th–early 18th century) in the Madurai region, they are most commonly depicted in stone sculpture or smaller ritual or decorative renditions in ivory as rearing on their hind legs, with their forelegs and paws held upright. The head has the long mane of a mature male lion, which is arranged as a radiant aura with the strands of hair resembling flames. They typically have immense bulging eyes. The mouth is widely gaped with snarling upper lips and prominent fangs. A long plume or frond, either plain or adorned with pearls, extends from the lower lip to an open lotus flower near the feet. The tail is that of a lion, long with articulated ends. This ivory plaque, carved in profile in openwork low relief and distinguishable by its small holes for originally being attached with brads, presents a variant beast with a short, curled elephant trunk and a small beady eye. It may represent an elephant-lion (gaja-simha) type of vyāla, which is one of the primary iconographic forms of hybrid vyālas listed in ancient sculpture manuals.
- Selected Bibliography
- Pal, Pratapaditya. Elephants and Ivories in South Asia. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1981.