Tree Goddess India, Rajasthan, Baroli, 900s-1000s grey sandstone, 38 1/4 inches (87 cm) high Gift of Robert H. Ellsworth in memory of Christian Humann 1982.198

This celestial figure once stood in a series of brackets against the central pillars of a temple at Baroli. The representation of her full womanly figure so close to the heavily-laden mango tree suggests not only earthly fertility but also the generative force of the divine. A pair of small feet on either side of her is all that remains of her attendants, but extraordinary detail can still be seen in her sumptuous jewelry and the four playful monkeys above her in the tree.


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