Tara
Bengal, Pala period
10th c.
basalt
Height: 20.2 cm (8 ins)

A figure of Tara seated in royal ease upon a lotus throne. She holds a lotus the stem of which curves over her hand past her elbow with the flower at her shoulder. To the right of her face is a diminutive stupa. Her hair is in a rounded chignon held in place by a diadem and she wears various items of jewellery and a diaphanous dhoti.