Colossal Head of a Deva

c. 1200

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

This head is from one of the gods (<em>devas</em> in Sanskrit) who, according to Hindu myth, churned the primordial Ocean of Milk to extract the nectar of immortality. Using a mountain as a churning rod and a serpent as the rope, the gods on one side and the demons on the other vied to win the nectar. The gods prevailed and achieved immortality.

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Details

Title: Colossal Head of a Deva
Date Created: c. 1200
Physical Dimensions: Overall: 71.3 x 50 x 47 cm (28 1/16 x 19 11/16 x 18 1/2 in.)
Provenance: (Spink Ltd., London, England, sold to a private collector), Private Collection, consigned to Sotheby's New York after the collector's death, (Sotheby's New York, NY, March 26, 2003, lot 28, sold to John and Maxeen Flower), Dr. John and Maxeen Stone Flower [1928–2010], Shaker Heights, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Type: Stone
Rights: CC0
External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2011.147
Medium: sandstone
Fun Fact: The deity’s conical tiara consists of a diadem with floral decoration and is topped by a five-tiered lotus narrowing upward.
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Culture: Cambodia, Angkor, c. early 13th century
Credit Line: Gift of Maxeen and John Flower in honor of Dr. Stanislaw Czuma
Collection: Cambodian Art
Accession Number: 2011.147

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