A Comparison of the Yakshi on the Gateway of the Great Stupa at Sanchi to the Sculpture of Aphrodite and Pan

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The detail of the Yakshi on the gateway of the Great Stupa at Sanchi provides an interesting comparison to the Greek Hellenistic sculpture of Aphrodite, Eros and Pan. The Yakshi figure is a semi-goddess who personifies fertility and vegetation. She is shown pressing her left foot against the trunk of a mango tree, bringing it to flower. Her pose is associated with procreation and abundance, and kicking the mango tree is symbolic of setting spring into motion.
The sculpture of Aphrodite and Pan could not be more different in terms of meaning.
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The nude Aphrodite is shown resisting the lecherous sexual advances of Pan. She is defending herself with a sandal while Eros grabs one of Pans’ horns. This marble sculpture portrays the subjects highly realistically, even if in an ideal manner. The Yakshi figure is also depicted in an idealized fashion: sensuous and youthful, with a narrow waist, broad hips, and high, rounded breasts.
Even though the female form is sensuous, erotic, and enticing in both works, their formal and compositional differences could not be more apparent.

Aphrodite’s style seems to be much more grounded in reality, however she seems to pay no attention to the viewer while it seems the Yakshi is staring directly back at the spectator. Both of the works include other objects or props, but the balance and composition is handled differently.
Aphrodite and Pan seem more symmetrically balanced while the Yakshi figure suggests a swaying movement into space. Contrapposto is also incorporated in both figures, however it is much more pronounced, exaggerated, and directed at the viewer in the Yakshi.
The way nudity is handled in these works can reveal much about their cultural attitudes.
Aphrodite seems almost laughing, and the Greek sculpture combines eroticism and humor in a playful and paradoxical way. The Yakshi figure more blatantly signifies fertility and procreation, as she is not covering herself as Aphrodite is seen doing, and more symbolic motifs of fruitfulness and fecundity are incorporated.

Thelma Austin

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