A makara (sea monster) is a mythical aquatic creature symbolic of fecundity that is a varying composite of diverse animals. The most common hybrid form, as represented in a Nepalese repoussé gilt copper alloy sculpture (M.85.279.6), has the trunk and head of an elephant, the body and feet of a crocodile, and the foliated tail of a fish or peacock. This Eastern Javanese earthenware makara has the trunk of an elephant, the head and jaws of a crocodile, and the scales and flexible body of a fish. The now-fragmentary upraised hollow tail was originally surmounted by an offering stand. Its surviving elements include a floral medallion and a handle with a serpent head junction. For a comparable makara offering stand, see John. N. Miksic and Endand Sri Hardiati Soekatno, eds., The Legacy of Majapahit (Singapore: National Heritage Board, 1995), p. 166, no. 80.
Makaras have an extremely rich heritage in Southern Asian and Himalayan art and culture. A makara is identified as the mount (vahana) of the god Varuna in the Vedic (proto-Hindu) scriptures of the second millennium BCE (see M.72.4.2). Architectural makaras survive in India from at least as early as the second century BCE. Makara forms are used in architecture for waterspouts, and as structural and design components of archways (torana) (see M.79.34a-b, M.91.350.3, and AC1999.127.20) and thronebacks (see M.81.90.5 and M.2001.1). They are ubiquitous in the ritual and decorative arts, particularly as ornate terminals on sacramental implements such as thunderbolts (vajra or dorje; see M.81.4, AC1994.176.1, M.2001.158.1); jewelry, especially earrings and necklaces (see M.83.105.1); and weaponry (see M.79.243.1, M.79.243.3, and AC1997.276.1).
