Material: clay

Size:  height 21 in. (53.3 cm); width 16 in. (40.6 cm); depth 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm)

 

First, take a minute or two to look closely at the images above. Write down your reaction to this object--what details do you notice? Why did you pick this object for your response paper? Make notes on things that you notice about it. Also, write down any questions you have about it--what kinds of things would you want to know about this object? Remember the questions we ask in class. You don't need to have answers for these questions yet, but keep them in your notes.

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Once you have some questions written down, try to answer them by reading the information I've provided below about this object and its context.​

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What do we know about this object?​

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This object shows the myth of Krishna fighting the horse-demon Keshi. The story goes that an evil king, Kamsa, was trying to assassinate Krishna--who is really an incarnation of the god Vishnu come to Earth. There is a prophecy that Krishna will bring about Kamsa's death, so he decides to try and murder Krishna first. Kamsa sends a bull demon, which Krishna kills easily. Infuriated, Kamsa then sends the horse-demon, Keshi. Keshi was extremely fast--moving at "the speed of thought"--so fast that his hooves tore up clods of dirt. The duel between Keshi and Krishna was epic. Keshi tried to trample Krishna with his hooves, but Krishna caught him by the legs and threw him in the air. Again and again, Keshi attacked and Krishna repelled the attack. Finally, exhausted and infuriated, Keshi tried to devour Krishna whole and attacked with his mouth wide open. Krishna thrust his arm into Keshi's mouth and all the way down into Keshi's stomach, and then expanded his arm to choke off Keshi's airflow until the demon was dead. It is this scene that you see in the plaque above. Below Krishna is the body of a dead horse--a representation of the state Keshi is about to be in. There are also some small objects underneath Krishna--according to the museum website, this is poop expelled by Keshi in fear when he realizes he is about to die.

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Although we don't know exactly where this object came from, similar clay plaques were used to decorate Hindu temples in India--so this plaque probably decorated a temple somewhere. Hindu temples are themselves objects of worship--worshipers walk around the temple exterior, viewing and contemplating the images of the gods. The images are arranged to help the worshiper find a deeper spiritual understanding. Worship is usually individual rather than congregational. Hindus believe that the image of a god contains the actual living god, and that the god can see the devotee and thus bestow blessings upon him or her. The consecration of a deity image includes a ritual to fill the figure with the breath of life (prana), followed by the "opening of the eyes" ceremony, in which the carving or painting of the eyes is finished and the eyes are "opened" with a ritual implement. Simply viewing a temple, or an image of deity, gives merit to the worshiper who has journeyed to the temple to see the image.

 

This plaque has been broken, and some limbs or parts are missing. Perhaps it fell off the temple at some point and was broken. We also don't know precisely how it got to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is on display today. All we know is that the Met purchased it from an antiquities dealer in 1991.

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The religion of Hinduism believes in a number of deities, who are all seen as different "aspects" of a single divine power. The three most powerful "aspects" are the gods Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer). Today, different sects of Hinduism exist which choose one of these three and worship him as the supreme deity. Each of these gods has different "versions", "avatars" in whose form they have appeared on earth. Thus, Krishna is a "version" or "avatar" of Vishnu. As the Metropolitan Museum describes it, "Vishnu preserves and maintains order in the universe. Whenever destructive forces, usually symbolized by demons, threaten to overwhelm the world, Vishnu descends in the form of an avatar to restore moral order. His concern for human political and social activities expresses the gentle and just-minded side of the One. It is believed that in our present universe, Vishnu has already appeared in nine incarnations, taking such animal forms as a fish and a tortoise and various human forms such as Krishna, Rama, and the Buddha. It is believed he will appear again in the future. As Krishna, he is the divine lover as well as a slayer of demons. Krishna's consort, Radha, and his female devotees, in their passionate longing for him, symbolize the soul's desire to be one with God." Krishna was (and is) very popular in Hinduism, and there are many myths about him.

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The fact that the demon Keshi takes the form of a horse is also rather interesting. Hinduism grew out of an earlier religion in India which we know about from several books of religious poems called the Rig Veda. Originally, the people who wrote the Rig Veda came from Central Asia and were nomadic--so horses were really important to them and their way of life. When these people migrated into India, they settled down and learned agriculture from the natives. However, horses continued to be important symbols of wealth and power. Kings would sometimes stage elaborate horse sacrifices as a demonstration of their power and right to rule. Although these practices had fallen out of fashion by the time this plaque was made in the 5th century, the importance of horses (and cows, also an important symbol of wealth for nomadic tribes) remained. In a way, Krishna's killing of the horse-demon is kind of like the ancient horse-sacrifice.

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Another thing you might notice is the way the sculptor has shaped the human body of Krishna. Indian art does not tend to emphasize the anatomy of figures, such as the structure of muscle or bone. Instead, it expresses a body filled with spirituality. The body contains the sacred breath of life (prana), and so it seems to swell from within; flesh is rounded and the skin is taut, so that the volumes of the entire body flow smoothly one into another. Images of the major male deities in Indian art tend to have broad shoulders and curving contours with slender waists and powerful thighs, a physique that suggests both power and spirituality. These are spiritual beings who have passed beyond the actual physicality of the human body (in other words, they have no need of bones or muscle; they are gods and they are full of divine power and life).

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Some things to consider in your response paper:​

• What was your response to this object? What drew your eye? You are encouraged to use first person (I/me) in your response paper. I want to know what you think.

• Consider the artistic details of this object carefully. What kinds of decisions did the artist make when they were creating this piece, and why? How is the artist creating drama, or a sense of an "epic" battle, as well as telling a narrative? Use your art terminology. This is an example of a high-relief artwork, where the figures are almost three-dimensional.

• What does this artwork tell you about the beliefs of Hinduism? Imagine a worshiper coming to a temple and seeing this sculpture hanging outside the temple, among other similar sculptures. What do you imagine they would think about this sculpture and the deity Krishna? What parts of this sculpture are designed to catch your eye and help you appreciate the story?