The art of terracotta sculpture in India reached its peak during the Gupta period (4th-6th century). Large-scale relief panels, of which this head is a fragment, were used extensively to decorate the exterior walls of single-cell and superstructure brick temples, the earliest surviving form of free-standing temple in India. This was widely practised across north India, the most famous sites being those of Ahichchhatra and Bhitargaon in Uttar Pradesh. This female head wears an elaborate hair ornament and the large circular earrings typical of the Gupta period, and may be taken to represent a noble woman, probably a character in one of the dramas from the epic literature that were depicted in terracotta in inset panels on the exterior walls of early Gupta temples.

This head of a female deity displays the full vitality of this style; she wears the large ring-type earrings (kundala) with a string of pendant pearls inset, and faceted head-ornament (tikka) worn in the centre-parting of her hair. The plasticity of terracotta allows a sureness of execution that gives a freshness rarely seen in stone sculpture. The fullness of the lips and the wide, expressive eyes, together with the characteristic continuous eyebrow ('like a bow'), display the qualities of the Gupta style at its most vital.