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Ritual vessel India, Bengal, Shunga period 2nd to 1st century bce Terracotta 32¼ × 5 1/* in. diam. (82.0 × 13.0 cm) Gift of David T. Owsley via the Alvin and Lucy Owsley Foundation in memory of Lucy Ball Owsley 2011.6
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TH E A RTS O F INDIA TO 15 0 0
This impressive ritual vessel, used for lustration of sacred objects or as an offering, is a very fine work from the area near the site of Chandraketugarh, northeast of Calcutta, where the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers run into the Bay of Bengal. Works in gold, ivory, copper, wood, and stone have been found here, as well as terracotta objects like this one. The area was a center of sea trade between India and the Mediterranean. During the era of the Mauryan empire and the succeeding Shunga period, Bengal was
part of a rich international culture, with far-flung contacts, both in commerce and in art. This sophisticated art style reflects both Hindu and Buddhist themes and includes stories from the Hindu epics as well as Buddhist imagery related to those on the stupas of Sanchi and Bharhut. The relative ease of production of fired ceramic objects like this one, with their mold-formed images applied to the body of the vase, led to a large business in similar artworks. The main image on the vessel is the panchachuda, or five-weapon goddess, who wears lethal weapons in her hair as ornaments. She may be an early form of Shri Devi, the Hindu Great Goddess. This warlike form of the goddess was to become important as Durga, Shiva’s wife and the defeater of demons. The DMA collection includes several important images of Durga, including the relief from Rajasthan (cat. 35) and the sculpture of Durga killing the buffalo demon (cat. 36). The figures on this vessel that surround the central goddess include attendants, flying vidyadharas (minor divinities whose name means “knowledge bearer”) holding out garlands, and three female goddesses and a winged male around a tree. The decorative motifs include lotuses and other flowers, conveying a sense of nature and fertility. The scale of the work, its three-dimensional character, the elegance of the appliqué figures, and the refinement of the vessel’s outlines form a striking whole, resembling sculpture more than a clay vase. The work has been thermoluminescence-tested for the date suggested. A.B.