LACMA

ShopMembershipMyLACMATickets
LACMA
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
info@lacma.org
(323) 857-6000
Sign up to receive emails
Subscribe
© Museum Associates 2026
  • About LACMA
  • Jobs
  • Host An Event
  • Unframed
  • Press
  • FAQs
  • Log in to MyLACMA
  • Privacy Policy
© Museum Associates 2026
Collections

Unknown
Architectural Panel with a Flying Celestial (Kinnara)5th century

Not on view
Terracotta or stucco sculptural fragment of a seated figure's upper body, with elaborate headdress, beaded necklace, and worn reddish-tan surface with gray-green patina, mounted on a black base
Fragmentary terracotta relief panel mounted on a black display stand, depicting a female figure with elaborate headdress and beaded necklace, shown in three-quarter view with a smaller figure reclining across her lap, warm reddish-brown surface with areas of weathering and loss.
Terracotta architectural fragment with a high-relief figure of a female yakshi or attendant, wearing a beaded necklace and elaborate headdress, one arm bent at the elbow, with weathered reddish-brown surface.

Unknown, Architectural Panel with a Flying Celestial (Kinnara), 5th century, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of Marilyn Walter Grounds, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Artist or Maker
Unknown
Title
Architectural Panel with a Flying Celestial (Kinnara)
Place Made
India, Uttar Pradesh
Date Made
5th century
Medium
Earthenware
Dimensions
9 1/2 x 7 3/4 x 3 1/2 in. (24.13 x 19.68 x 8.89 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Marilyn Walter Grounds
Accession Number
M.87.279.3
Classification
Architecture
Collecting Area
South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes

This fragmentary earthenware panel originally adorned the exterior of a brick temple made during the Gupta Dynasty (319-467 CE). It depicts a mythical half-avian, half-human semi-divine being with the lower body of a bird called a kinnara (Sanskrit: ‘what sort of man’). The celestial creature is portrayed with the distinctive Gupta hairstyle (bhramaka or bhramaraka) consisting of spiral curls of teased hair resembling large bumblebee (bhramara). In his right hand held by his chest, he is likely carrying a small pot with a flower as a devotional offering. His left hand is now missing.

See also M.86.116, M.89.101.3, AC1992.271.1, and M.2001.1.

Selected Bibliography

  • El Universo de la India: Obras Maestras del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Angeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, 2012.