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Source Description
Standing under the lush foliage of a flourishing tree, this amorous couple, or "mithuna," once formed part of the jamb of a temple doorway. Associated with fertility and wellbeing, "mithunas" are considered to bring auspiciousness to the buildings they adorn. Here, the man stands at ease while the woman twists to display and admire the nail marks left by her partner during lovemaking—a motif in both Sanskrit literature and the visual arts of South Asia.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
36243
label
Erotic Couple (""Mithuna"")
core
obj
dtoType
sculpture
citationUrl
pageCount
6
Source metadata
id
36243
sourceUrl
contentType
sculpture
stage
normalized
title
Erotic Couple (""Mithuna"")
description
Standing under the lush foliage of a flourishing tree, this amorous couple, or "mithuna," once formed part of the jamb of a temple doorway. Associated with fertility and wellbeing, "mithunas" are considered to bring auspiciousness to the buildings they adorn. Here, the man stands at ease while the woman twists to display and admire the nail marks left by her partner during lovemaking—a motif in both Sanskrit literature and the visual arts of South Asia.
provenance
Renzo Freschi, Milan; purchased by John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, 1998; given to Walters Art Museum, 2003.
date
ca. 500 CE
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Sculpture
doorjambs
imageCount
6
pageCount
6
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
39.4
height
24.5
depth
6.4
dimensionsRaw
H: 15 1/2 × W: 9 5/8 × D: 2 1/2 in. (39.4 × 24.5 × 6.4 cm)
Source extras
med
pink sandstone
creator_ids
2191
collection_ids
INT
exhibition_ids
2071
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
5156842db0cfc0ec
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
918d1cf68b20e2a1
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
dfa5f64c1874a558
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
5e14aafb3f4f343f
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
5
type
photo
mediaId
70247cdb7c2000f6
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
6
type
photo
mediaId
5ee871e174728179
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no