Plaque - Hariti and Child

This plaque of the goddess Hariti was created around 1800 in Mathura, in what is now India. Mathura was a major center of Buddhist art in India in the first millennium CE and, as the birthplace of Krishna, serves as a significant holy site for devotees of the Hindu god. In this terracotta plaque, perhaps from a temple, Hariti is recognizable by the child she holds in her hands. However, her dress is simpler and more modern than in other representations. She lifts her foot to pull a thorn from it, a common pose of yakshinis (nature spirits) and apsaras (heavenly feminine spirits) in Indian art. This pose continued to be popular for youthful beauties, both human and divine, in 18th- and 19th-century Indian art, for example in this Rajasthani miniature and Raja Ravi Varma's famous painting of Shakuntala.