Female Attendants

Description

These elegant female figures would have originally been in a portable, wooden shrine with a central ivory depicting the Buddha. One holds a chaurī, or flywhisk, a frequent attribute of attendants, while the one originally on the left holds a lotus. Both display a graceful contraposto (tribhanga). Their rich jewelry contrasts successfully with the softness of their flesh.

Provenance

(Spink & Son, Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1972); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1972–)

Female Attendants

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700s

Accession Number

1972.35

Medium

ivory

Dimensions

Overall: 7.5 cm (2 15/16 in.); Base: 2.2 x 2.3 cm (7/8 x 7/8 in.)

Classification

Ivory

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund