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Shalabhanjika (Woman and Tree)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The full carving of a flowering tree on the back of this figurine indicates that she is a figure of a nature divinity who personifies the life-giving qualities of the sap that envigorates the tree and causes it to flower. These figures are sometimes called shalabhanjika , "she who breaks the tree," probably because her fertile properties are so powerful that it causes the tree to fruit so heavily that the branches break.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineShalabhanjika (Woman and Tree), 300s–400s CE. Northern India, Kashmir. Gray steatite; overall: 8 cm (3 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, James Parmelee Fund, 1974.74
