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Bust of Brahman

HADB 295Inv. MG 17118Tapa Kalān
Tapa KalānFigureStuccoModelling
Figure in Stucco: Bust of Brahman, Tapa Kalān, Hadda
Click to enlarge

Photo by Jules Barthoux ©GrandPalaisRmn - Guimet Museum

Gallery (3)
Tapa Kalān

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

Bust of Brahman
Bust of Brahman
1928Today

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

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