Kamadeva (God of Desire)

ca. 12th century

This sculpture from a Hindu temple in eastern India depicts the god Kama, whose name means “desire.” He shoots one of his passion-inducing floral arrows at his wives Rati and Priti, who throw their heads and arms back in ecstasy. Although Kama’s stories focus on sexual desire, he represents all desires. Popular tales about him often express the paradox between our insatiable desires in life and our insatiable desire to escape from the endless cycle of reincarnation.

Sandstone

36 1/2 x 9 x 9 1/2 in. (92.7 x 22.9 x 24.2 cm)

Purchased with funds from the Alma Blake Bequest and General Acquisition Fund

74.17

Provenance: Bhuvanesvara, Orissa (probably from Shiva temple in Bhuvanesvara complex); Peter Marks, Works of Art, New York City; Purchased from Alma Blake Bequest and General Acquisitions Funds, Seattle Art Museum, June 11, 1974

Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition History"Manifestations of Siva," traveling exhibit Philadelphia Museum of Art, 3/29-6/7/81; Kimbell Art Museum, 8/1-9/27/81;

Seattle Art Museum, 11/25/81-1/31/82;

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 3/18-5/30/82;

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., "The Sculpture of India: 3,000 B.C. to 1300 A.D." 5/3-9/2/85

(from paper card)

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.

Published References"Selected Works." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1991, p. 148

Trubner, Henry. "Asian Art in the Seattle Art Museum: Fifty Years of Collecting." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1983, p. 7, illus. color

Foong, Ping, Xiaojin Wu, and Darielle Mason. "An Asian Art Museum Transformed." Orientations vol. 51, no. 3 (May/June 2020): pp. 64, 66, reproduced fig. 26.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM