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Scientific Analysis Report: A thermoluminescence sample analysis has been conducted by Archeolabs TL, Saint Bonnet de Chavagne, France, reference no. FH-08-46-02-01-TL, dated 19 November 2008, sets the firing date of the three samples taken between 1800 and 2400 years ago, consistent with the dating above.
Exhibited: Renaud Montméat, Brussels Oriental Art Fair, 3 June-7 June 2009 (confirmed by Mr. Montméat via email).
Eastern India, circa 1st century BC-1st century AD. Depicting an idyllic garden scene with elegantly adorned women and children gathered beneath luxuriant trees. At the center, a richly jeweled female figure reclines gracefully upon a swing suspended between two tall ornamented pillars, a young girl swinging along with her, attended by further women and children to either side.
The sensuously modeled figures wear elaborate coiffures, beaded jewelry, girdles, and finely detailed garments, their affectionate gestures conveying maternal tenderness and domestic harmony. The pillars and lower border are enriched with rosettes and floral ornament, while the dense foliage above lends the composition a sense of abundance and repose.
Provenance: A European private collection. Renaud Montméat, Paris, France, acquired from the above. Renaud Montméat has been dealing with Asian art since 1999. Dedicated to Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian art, the gallery is located in the center of Paris, France, and participates in major Asian art fairs in London, Brussels, Paris, and New York.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, minor losses, nicks, scratches, chips, soil deposits, signs of weathering and erosion, and encrustations.
Weight: 4.6 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Size 40 x 51 cm (excl. stand)
With an associated metal stand. (2)
Expert’s note
This finely modeled plaque is the earliest depiction of a swing presently known in Indian art. At its center, a voluptuous and richly adorned goddess reclines upon a deep, curved seat suspended from an architectural frame, accompanied by a small child. Flanked by majestic female figures with children and set amid luxuriant trees and flowering plants, the scene unites the swing with imagery of fertility, abundance, and divine femininity. More than just a charming incidental detail, the swing forms the compositional and symbolic heart of the plaque.
The present work predates by some five to six centuries the most celebrated early Indian representation of the motif: the fifth-century mural in Cave 2 at Ajanta, illustrating the Vidhura-pandita Jataka, in which the naga princess Irandatī swings in the royal garden when she is first seen by the yak?a general Purnaka (fig. 1). By carrying the history of the subject back to the Sunga period, the present plaque demonstrates that the swing had already entered the visual language of Indian art in a remarkably sophisticated and fully developed form.
The motif itself has a deep and geographically widespread antiquity. Among its earliest surviving representations is a Minoan clay model excavated from the Tomba degli Ori at Hagia Triada, Crete, and now in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, inv. nos. Π3039, Π3133, and Π3134 (fig. 2). Dating to circa 1500-1450 BC, it shows a female figure suspended between two posts crowned by birds. Traditionally understood as a ceremonial swing, the composition has more recently been interpreted as the epiphany of a goddess descending from the heavens—an interpretation that reveals how swinging could evoke divine manifestation rather than mere recreation. In the Greek world, a red-figure terracotta lekythos associated with the Lecce Painter, dating to circa 375-350 BC and now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession no. 13.232.3 (fig. 3), depicts a woman propelling a young girl on a swing, probably in connection with Aiora and Anthesteria, festivals dedicated to Dionysos. Far beyond the Mediterranean and South Asia, the motif also appears in ancient Mesoamerica, as demonstrated by a Classic Veracruz ceramic figure of a woman seated on a swing, dating to circa 100-300 AD and now in the Princeton University Art Museum, object no. 2016-1389 (fig. 4).
Against this broad history, the extraordinary importance of the present plaque lies not only in its chronological primacy within Indian art, but also in the exceptional richness of its conception. Unlike the isolated figures and comparatively simple genre scenes preserved elsewhere, the swing is here transformed into the throne-like focus of an elaborate sacred tableau, surrounded by children, attendant figures, luxuriant vegetation, and imagery of maternity and abundance. The plaque therefore stands as both a foundational document for the history of the swing in Indian art and one of the most ambitious surviving ancient representations of the motif anywhere.
Chandraketugarh is an archaeological site located beside the Bidyadhari river, about 35 kilometers northeast of Kolkata. Excavation between 1957 and 1968 (conducted by the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art) revealed relics of several historical periods, although the chronological classification of the relics remains incomplete. According to some historians, the Chandraketugarh site and surrounding area could be the place known to ancient Greek and Roman writers as having the same name as the river Ganges, sometimes referred to as Gangaridai.
This ancient capital and important urban center has yielded a wealth of artistically accomplished pottery of diverse object types and ceramic wares. Buff-colored low-fired earthenware was prevalent. Numerous sculptures, relief plaques, and ornate vases were produced. They are decorated primarily with images of sophisticated women and fertility goddesses richly adorned with elaborate hairstyles, intricately patterned textiles, and an abundance of jewelry.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related terracotta plaque showing a Goddess who bestows riches, probably Sri Lakshmi, Chandraketugarh, West Bengal, dated to the 1st century BC, 26.7 x 20 cm, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1990.281. Compare a closely related terracotta plaque showing an animal sacrifice at the shrine of a goddess, Chandraketugarh, dated 2nd–3rd century, and illustrated by Naman Ahuja, “Rumour Has It... The Case of Chandraketugarh”, in Marg (2018), vol. 69, no. 3, p. 88, no. 6.
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