India, Mathura, Kushan period / 100s CE
Corner Railing Pillar with Drinking Scenes, Yakshis, and Musicians
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Corner Railing Pillar with Drinking Scenes, Yakshis, and Musicians as sculpture (India, Mathura, Kushan period · 100s CE).
The celestial musicians, who play a lyre, castanets, and a triangular harp, evoke bacchanalian connotations.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as red sandstone.
The museum's collection notes: This pillar reflects the influence of Greco-Roman culture on Indian art and the influence of Gandharan styles and bacchanalian themes on the art of Mathura. The pillar depicts female figures who, seemingly intoxicated, play instruments and dance. Two additional scenes are carved on the base. First, a hunchbacked woman pours wine for an obese male fertility figure ( yaksha ). The second scene probably illustrates the story of the horse-headed yakshi who ate her victims.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtCorner Railing Pillar with Drinking Scenes, Yakshis, and MusiciansOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.