Female Spirit from an Indian Stupa
Royal patronage aided the spread of Buddhism in India, especially the patronage of King Ashoka, who sponsored the construction of numerous Buddhist monuments. This head of a female spirit (called a yakshini) is from the stupa that Ashoka had built at Bharhut in central India. (Sudarsana Yakshini, relief from Stupa of Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, India/De Agostini Picture Library/G. Nimatallah/The Bridgeman Art Library)