Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum

A catalogue of the Ashmolean’s collection of Indian art by J. C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield (published Oxford, 1987).

Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum by J. C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield

Publications online: 143 objects

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Medallion from a pot depicting a bearded figure, possibly a bodhisattva

  • Literature notes

    The appliqué medallion, with its pearl border, was part of a large pot, of which there is an intact example in the Museum für Indische Kunst, West Berlin, similarly decorated with round medallions surrounded by a pearl band, but where the motifs in its medallions are of Indian or classical inspiration, as are the appliqué lion masks of [EAX.68], the bearded figure in the Museum’s example show stylistic affinities to art further east. In particular, the hooked eyebrows are reminiscent of the famous wall painting of Mahākāśyapa from Kyzil.

    This and several other small terracottas from Khotan were acquired by Sir Armine Dew in the North West Frontier Province in the 1920s.
  • Details

    Associated place
    AsiaChinaXinjiang Khotan (place of creation)
    AsiaPakistan North-West Frontier Province (former location)
    Date
    5th - 6th century AD (AD 401 - 600)
    Material and technique
    terracotta, stamped or moulded, and painted
    Dimensions
    6 x 8 x 1 cm (height x width x depth)
    Material index
    Technique index
    Object type index
    containervessel pot
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Presented by Mrs Alethea Pitt, 1984.
    Accession no.
    EA1984.26
  • Further reading

    Harle, J. C., and Andrew Topsfield, Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1987), no. 36b on p. 28, illus. p. 28

Location

    • currently in research collection

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Publications online

  • Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum by J. C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield

    Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum

    The appliqué medallion, with its pearl border, was part of a large pot, of which there is an intact example in the Museum für Indische Kunst, West Berlin, similarly decorated with round medallions surrounded by a pearl band, but where the motifs in its medallions are of Indian or classical inspiration, as are the appliqué lion masks of [EAX.68], the bearded figure in the Museum’s example show stylistic affinities to art further east. In particular, the hooked eyebrows are reminiscent of the famous wall painting of Mahākāśyapa from Kyzil.

    This and several other small terracottas from Khotan were acquired by Sir Armine Dew in the North West Frontier Province in the 1920s.
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Object information may not accurately reflect the actual contents of the original publication, since our online objects contain current information held in our collections database. Click on 'buy this publication' to purchase printed versions of our online publications, where available, or contact the Jameel Study Centre to arrange access to books on our collections that are now out of print.

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