Nagaraja - Serpent King at the Guimet, Paris

On the Indian subcontinent, temples have been dedicated to the worship of serpents since the dawn of civilization. Both Buddhism and Hinduism adopted nagarajas and naginis (serpent kings and their consorts) as protective divinities and depicted them like human beings. This sculpture from a pair of royal serpents (1987.415.1, .2) is carved in the round. The figure stand in front of cobras, whose open hoods form canopies for their heads. They date from the early part of the Gupta period and maintain ties to the style of the late Kushan period. This object is part of Scan The World. Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email [e-mail] to find out how you can help.自文明肇始以来，印度次大陆的诸多庙宇便已用于蛇类崇拜的供奉活动。佛教与印度教均将蛇王（nagarajas）与蛇后（naginis，即蛇王的配偶）奉为守护神祇，并以人形对其进行塑造。这件源自一对皇家蛇像（藏品编号：1987.415.1、.2）的雕塑采用圆雕工艺制作，两尊造像立于眼镜蛇身前，后者展开的颈盾为其头部构成了华盖。其年代可追溯至笈多王朝早期，风格上仍延续了后贵霜时期的特征。 本藏品属于「扫描世界（Scan The World）」项目的组成部分。扫描世界（Scan The World）是由MyMiniFactory推出的非营利性项目，致力于打造全球范围内可完全3D打印的雕塑、艺术品与地标建筑的数字档案库，供公众免费访问与使用。该项目属于开源社区共建项目，若您身边存有有趣的藏品并希望参与贡献，可发送邮件至[e-mail]了解具体参与方式。