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This ivory disk was possibly part of a massive earring around which lobes were stretched so that they rest on the shoulders. Eight figures that are half woman and half fish hold hands in a ring around a series of concentric circles containing floral imagery. Their hands and tails make the repeated form of an auspicious trident-shaped symbol, often depicted with fish tails in combination with a lotus flower. The full-breasted forms, the tails, and the lotus flowers evoke the imagery of life-giving waters. A circle of eight female figures later comes to refer to the maidens of the eight directions of the sky (<em>ashtadikpalikas</em>).
Page data
- Page
- 1
- Source index
- 0
- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- 2fd0d288881015ae
- Size
- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 168569
- Core
- obj
- Type
- object
DTO data
{
"id": "168569",
"contentType": "object",
"title": "Roundel with Mermaids and Lotus",
"description": "This ivory disk was possibly part of a massive earring around which lobes were stretched so that they rest on the shoulders. Eight figures that are half woman and half fish hold hands in a ring around a series of concentric circles containing floral imagery. Their hands and tails make the repeated form of an auspicious trident-shaped symbol, often depicted with fish tails in combination with a lotus flower. The full-breasted forms, the tails, and the lotus flowers evoke the imagery of life-giving waters. A circle of eight female figures later comes to refer to the maidens of the eight directions of the sky (<em>ashtadikpalikas</em>).",
"date": "c. 100 BCE",
"citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.295",
"rights": "CC0",
"rightsUri": "CC0",
"language": "en",
"wikidata": [
"Q80074634"
],
"genreSpecific": [
"Ivory"
],
"iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.295/2010.295_web.jpg",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.295/2010.295_web.jpg",
"largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.295/2010.295_web.jpg",
"imageCount": 1,
"source": "import",
"dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.); Overall: 2.5 cm (1 in.)",
"cul": [
"India, Bengal, Chandraketugarh area, Shunga period (185–78 BCE)"
],
"accession": "2010.295"
}
Context sent to Scholar
Document identity
{
"localId": "168569",
"label": "Roundel with Mermaids and Lotus",
"core": "obj",
"dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
"id": "168569",
"contentType": "object",
"title": "Roundel with Mermaids and Lotus",
"description": "This ivory disk was possibly part of a massive earring around which lobes were stretched so that they rest on the shoulders. Eight figures that are half woman and half fish hold hands in a ring around a series of concentric circles containing floral imagery. Their hands and tails make the repeated form of an auspicious trident-shaped symbol, often depicted with fish tails in combination with a lotus flower. The full-breasted forms, the tails, and the lotus flowers evoke the imagery of life-giving waters. A circle of eight female figures later comes to refer to the maidens of the eight directions of the sky (<em>ashtadikpalikas</em>).",
"date": "c. 100 BCE",
"citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.295",
"rights": "CC0",
"rightsUri": "CC0",
"language": "en",
"wikidata": [
"Q80074634"
],
"genreSpecific": [
"Ivory"
],
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"thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.295/2010.295_web.jpg",
"largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.295/2010.295_web.jpg",
"imageCount": 1,
"source": "import",
"dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.); Overall: 2.5 cm (1 in.)",
"cul": [
"India, Bengal, Chandraketugarh area, Shunga period (185–78 BCE)"
],
"accession": "2010.295"
}
Document source extras
{
"tec": "ivory",
"tombstone": "Roundel with Mermaids and Lotus, c. 100 BCE. India, Bengal, Chandraketugarh area, Shunga period (185–78 BCE). Ivory; diameter: 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.); overall: 2.5 cm (1 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of John Eskenazi in honor of Dr. Stanislaw J. Czuma, 2010.295",
"collection": "Indian Art",
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.295",
"creditline": "Gift of John Eskenazi in honor of Dr. Stanislaw J. Czuma",
"updatedAt": "2026-05-29 08:40:14.947000",
"imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.295/2010.295_print.jpg",
"sourceId": 168569,
"dept": "Indian and Southeast Asian Art",
"coll": "Indian Art",
"med": "ivory",
"thumbnail_url": null,
"image_url": null
}
Page context
{
"seq": 1,
"pageIndex": 0,
"type": "photo",
"url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.295/2010.295_web.jpg",
"mediaId": "2fd0d288881015ae"
}