Stair-riser

Unknown (Kushan)

Item type:

sculpture

Date of creation:

2nd-3rd century

Height:

11.3 cm  (4 7/16 in.)

Width:

29.2 cm  (11 1/2 in.)

Diameter:

4.1 cm  (1 5/8 in.)

Technique / Medium:

carved schist

Place of creation:

Gandhara (former nation/state/empire)

School:

Gandhara

Description

Stair-riser length showing nāgas and nāgīs making music and dancing. From right to left a very abraded figure holds her damaged right hand perhaps palm upwards at right angles to the wrist, a lutenist apparently raises her hand to the strings, a drummer, one hand raised to strike the drum, seems to wear a long draped overgarment from her left shoulder over a tunic and paridhāna and is turned towards a nāgī dancing, one leg raised, an arm flung out, head turned and her right hand held as supposed for the first figure; her paridhāna is worn round a tunic and appears gathered in front in a thick fall from the girdle and she wears a scarf tucked into it; beside her and turned towards the nāgīs is a male harpist in a crested turban and an uttarīya. All the females have serpents rising from them, as may the harpist, and wear wreath headdresses, collars, anklets and bracelets.

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Harp [3285]
Drum [2585]
Lute [3394]

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 2

RIdIM record id

5357