Gupta period terracotta plaque with depiction of celestial, Pawāyā

This plaque dates to circa the late fourth century CE during the Gupta period. It once decorated the outer wall of a temple at Pawāyā (ancient Padmāvatī), in the Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh. The panel is one of several depicting male and female busts. These images, which probably represent celestial figures or participants in the heavenly realms, might have been situated on the tower (śikhara) of the lost temple, or on the walls of one of the three terraces belonging to the monumental platform which survives in a severely ruined state. The terracotta panel was recovered by M.B. Garde who excavated the monument intermittently between 1924 and 1941. The panel is displayed at the Gujari Mahal Museum, Gwalior.