Amorous Couple (Mithuna)

400s

Amorous Couple (Mithuna), 400s. Northern India, Uttar Pradesh, Ahichchatra, Gupta period (c. 320-550). Terracotta; overall: 38.5 x 37 cm (15 3/16 x 14 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1971.133 Amorous couples were among the most prevalent imagery on the exterior of sacred sites in early India. Their life-affirming imagery was considered auspicious. This roundel would have been part of a brick structure, since terracotta was typically used in the ornamentation of brick temples, instead of stone. The site of Ahichchatra retains ruins of a pyramid-shaped brick temple dedicated to Shiva.