- Title
- Amorous Couple
- Date Made
- 14th century
- Medium
- Earthenware with traces of black paint
- Dimensions
- 4 5/8 x 2 3/4 x 3 3/8 in. (11.75 x 6.99 x 8.57 cm)
- Accession Number
- AC1994.234.4
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Numerous earthenware sculptures and decorative objects modeled by hand or made with molds have been unearthed in the environs of Trowulan (or Trawulan), the former capital of the Majapahit Empire (1292–1527) in Eastern Java. A substantial quantity of the surviving corpus consists of sculptures of various figural types, including caricatures, servants, ascetics, as well as numerous animals. This is a rare example of an erotic representation in Majapahit earthenware figural sculpture. The amorous couple is embracing with the male behind the female and his head on her shoulder. See H. R. A. Muller, Javanese Terracottas: Terra Incognita (Lochem, The Netherlands: Tijdstroom, 1978), pp. 17-41, pls 10-75; and John N. Miksic, ed. The Legacy of Majapahit (Singapore: National Heritage Board, 1995), pp. 170-178, nos. 90-107. See also M.72.107 and M.86.250.1.
- Selected Bibliography
- Pal, Pratapaditya. Icons of Piety, Images of Whimsy: Asian Terra-cottas from the Walter Grounds Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1987.
