Stair-riser with musicians and dancers

Unknown (Gandharan)

Item type:

sculpture

Date of creation:

2nd-3rd century

Height:

13.6 cm  (5 3/8 in.)

Width:

42.3 cm  (16 5/8 in.)

Diameter:

3.5 cm  (1 3/8 in.)

Technique / Medium:

schist

Place of creation:

Jamāl Garhi (Pākistān)

School:

Kushan

Description

Stair-riser length showing musicians. From right to left, a woman in a tunic and draped overgarment, wearing earrings and playing the double flute, turns towards a woman drummer. A male, wearing a plunging overgarment (compare BM 1939.0119.18) and holding a kantharos, touches the breast of a woman in a high-girt long tunic and a draped overgarment, who reaches out to his chin. Beside her is a similarly dressed woman with pan-pipes and beyond her a clothed woman embraces, and is embraced by, a naked and inebriated man whose genitals she may be touching. A vestigial framing fillet and cavetto are above.

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Double flute [3930]
Drum [2585]
Panpipe [4024]

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1

RIdIM record id

5298