Flying Aspara - San Diego, CA
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 32° 43.922 W 117° 09.026
11S E 485904 N 3621590
This sculpture is in the San Diego Museum of Art.
Waymark Code: WMN7X5
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 01/15/2015
Views: 3
The San Diego Museum of Art is located in beautiful Balboa Park.
The museum placard accompanying this work informs us that it is from 18th century Japan and made of wood. "The figure probably once carried offerings of flowers."
Wikipedia (
visit link) adds:
"An Apsara (also spelled as Apsarasa) is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.
An Apsara ...is also known as Vidhya Dhari or Tep Apsar ... in Khmer, Acchara (Pali) ...English translations of the word "Apsara" include "nymph," "celestial nymph," and "celestial maiden."
Apsaras are beautiful, supernatural female beings. They are youthful and elegant, and superb in the art of dancing. They are often the wives of the Gandharvas, the court musicians of Indra. They dance to the music made by the Gandharvas, usually in the palaces of the gods, entertain and sometimes seduce gods and men. As ethereal beings who inhabit the skies, and are often depicted taking flight, or at service of a god, they may be compared to angels.
Apsaras are said to be able to change their shape at will, and rule over the fortunes of gaming and gambling[1]. Urvasi, Menaka, Rambha and Tilottama are the most famous among them. Apsaras are sometimes compared to the muses of ancient Greece, with each of the 26 Apsaras at Indra's court representing a distinct aspect of the performing arts. They are associated with fertility rites.
There are two types of Apsaras; Laukika (worldly), of whom thirty-four are specified, and Daivika (divine), of which there are ten.
The Bhagavata Purana also states that the Apsaras were born from Kashyap and Muni."