About this artwork
This sculpture of semidivine women, likely intended for the exterior of a temple, illustrates how the sacred and the sensuous are intertwined in Hinduism. Such figures of female abundance—with full breasts and wide hips, wearing heavy jewelry—are associated with fertility and prosperity. These women are engaged in adorning themselves: one uses a mirror to apply vermilion to the part atop her head, and another wrings water from her long hair. Their idealized forms infused the temple and surrounding land with vitality, linking external and spiritual beauty as pathways to the divine.
-
Status
- Currently Off View
-
Department
- Arts of Asia
-
Title
- Two Beautiful Women (Surasundari) Dressing with an Attendant
-
Place
- Madhya Pradesh (Object made in:)
-
Date
- 901 CE–1100
-
Medium
- Sandstone
-
Dimensions
- 48.1 × 29.9 × 14.4 cm (19 × 11 3/4 × 5 11/16 in.)
-
Credit Line
- James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection. Gift of Marilynn Alsdorf
-
Reference Number
- 2021.205
-
IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/130622/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.