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| Celestial Entertainer |
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| India, Rajasthan or Uttar Pradesh; 10th century |
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| Sandstone |
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| H. 19 1/2 in. (49.5 cm) |
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| Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection of Asian Art |
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| 1979.032 |
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| Images of female celestial entertainers commonly decorate the exterior walls of Hindu temples. The exaggerated pose of this figure emphasizes both her movement and her fertile nature. An Indian text on temple art notes the auspicious importance of these figures: "As a house without a wife, as frolic without a woman, so, without the figure of a women the monument will be of inferior quality and will bear no fruit." |
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