Weiner Mihályné szerk.: Az Iparművészeti Múzeum Évkönyvei 7. (Budapest, 1964)

HOPP FERENC MÚZEUM — MUSÉE FERENC HOPP - Tóth, Edit: Terracottas from the Gupta Period

the ears have pendants. It may be classed to sub-type II of group 15

5 which is also from 650—750. Its height is 5 cm. Figure 4: an important and well-preserved piece in our collection. We see a young woman holding a child against her left hip. Her upper body seems to be nude. They both wear strands of pearls on their necks, and a similar strand may be found between the woman's forehead and hair. It has a frontlet in the centre. There is a veil on her head which she gently draws aside with her right hand. She belongs to the group of mother-and-child representations. Sanscrit sources mention four types of nurses, three of which are represented among the terracottas of the Gupta period. Of the four, the studied specimen may be related to either the Ankadhätri (nurse holding a child) or the Kridäpänikadhätri (nurse amusing child), although her posture, the fact that she holds the child against her hip, and her raised arm differ from the customary Ankadhätri representations. She is not a Kridäpänikadhätri representation because she does not have the usual attribute, a toy, in her right hand. Her hair style is not the same as those of the Ahichchhaträ. Her headdress in reminiscent of one type seen on a painting of Ajantä.

6 To the left of her nose there is a flower-shaped ornament. We find flower decorations on various parts of the female faces on the ivory plaques of Begram and the reliefs of Bharhut.

7 This might indicate 5 Loc. cit. p. 140. G Cave no 10. Mukul Dey : Mv pilgrimages to Ajanta and Bagh. London 1950

2

. p. 67 and Pl. VII. 7 Agrawala, V. 8. : Some terracottas, p. 5. A similar floral decoration is seen on the face of figures from the Gupta period which were published also by A. K. Coomaraswamy in the December issue of the Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 1927. XXV, No. 152.