Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 137, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Terracotta Plaque

Sculpture
2nd century BC to 1st century BC (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Plaque depicting a female figure


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleTerracotta Plaque (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Terracotta, moulded in relief.
Brief description
Terracotta, Madhya Pradesh, Sunga dynasty, c. 2nd to 1st century BC
Physical description
Plaque depicting a female figure
Dimensions
  • Height: 12.9cm
  • Width: 5.9cm
  • Depth: 2.6cm
Style
Historical context
Plaque depicting an elaborately coiffeured female being shaved by a kneeling man who holds up her right leg and supports a bowl on his knee. Terracotta moulded in relief. From the Ganges Valley, c. 2nd century BC.
The majority of Indian terra-cotta figurines appear to have been made as votive offerings and often represent the ancient Mother Goddess or fertility godlings. Some were undoubtedly toys and others depict erotic subjects or scenes of urban life. Contemporary literature describes the sophisticated life-style of Indian courtesans of which this appears to be an illustration.
Production
Ganges valley, Madhya Pradesh, India
Bibliographic reference
In the invoice from Ulrich von Schroeder this plaque is attributed to Madhya Pradesh but it is not known whether or not this means that it was found there.
Collection
Accession number
IS.7-1978

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Record createdFebruary 13, 2000
Record URL
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