This ivory statuette is both far out of my comfort zone (Classical art) and very much part of the Mediterranean story. She is a Buddhist yakshini (previously erroneously identified as Lakshmi), measuring just under twenty-five centimeters, certainly Indian in origin but found in Pompeii, evidently reaching that fabled city before its destruction in 79 A.D. Another goddess who took a journey….

The statuette was found in 1938 in destruction layers associated with the domus of a wealthy merchant and likely dates to the first decades of the 1st century A.D., perhaps originating in Gandhara. She is thought to represent the goddess of fertility and beauty (worshipped by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains in that period) and as such would have meshed well with the roles of Roman Venus, and been a prime subject for a Roman trader interested in showing his international reach

The interconnection between the Graeco-Roman world and India is astonishing and exciting (with glimpses before Alexander’s conquests and later more concretely between successor Seleucids and Chandragupta) is an area that fascinates me in terms of material culture. I’d love to know more about it – please do weigh in with thoughts and tips on books and resources to learn more!