Bust of Brahman

Photo by Jules Barthoux ©GrandPalaisRmn - Guimet Museum
Location
Tapa Kalān68
Description
This brahman is bearded and mustached. The hair is long, and falls over ears with enlarged lobes. One of the locks is twisted and forms a small bun. The face is young, thin, with high cheekbones. The eyes are deep, the mouth half-open. He is dressed in a kind of short-sleeved tunic that seems to be cut out of leather and makes a particular gesture: the left hand is raised to the level of the torso, palm towards the sky, and the right hand is raised to the level of the face, the index finger pointed towards the mouth.
Observations
At the time of its discovery, this brahman described as having a "Semitic type" was dubbed "the Jesus of Haḍḍa" and likened to the Christ figures in Western medieval churches.
1928 / today


Excavation photograph by Jules Barthoux (1928) juxtaposed with a recent photograph by Alexandra Vanleene.
Comparative study
The hand gesture is similar to that of the Alexandrian Harpocrates, the Greco-Egyptian deity.
Characteristics
Dimensions
H: 11cm × L: 7.2cm × P: 8cm
Technique
Modelling
Material
Stucco
Object type
Figure
Site
Tapa Kalān - 68
Conservation location
Guimet Museum
Museum inventory No.
MG 17118
Traces of polychromy
No
Restoration
No restoration
Dimensions
H: 11cm × L: 7.2cm × P: 8cm
Technique
Modelling
Material
Stucco
Object type
Figure
Site
Tapa Kalān - 68
Conservation location
Guimet Museum
Museum inventory No.
MG 17118
Traces of polychromy
No
Restoration
No restoration
Bibliographic Reference
Learn to recognise this figure