Didarganj Yakshi

Statue found in 1919 in Didarganj, a village near Patna in the state of Bihar. The
image is believed to date from the third
century B.C.E. and is thus a product of
the Maurya dynasty. The statue is of a
voluptuous female figure, bare to the
waist, wearing abundant jewelry and
bearing a yak-tail whisk (chauri), which
was a contemporary sign of authority. It
is believed to be a statue of a yakshi, a
class of nature-spirits connected with
fertility and prosperity. It is notable as
one of the earliest known stone statues,
and there is speculation that this may
have come through contact with the
Greeks. The figure itself is masterfully
rendered in highly polished Chunar
sandstone from the sandstone quarries
near Benares; the sharply detailed rendering of her clothing and jewelry conveys the illusion of softness and swelling
of the bare flesh.