This head of Shiva is made from the mottled red sandstone local to Mathura in northern India. It was produced during the Gupta period (c.350-550 AD). During this period of great cultural wealth, art and literature reached extraordinary heights and had an influence far beyond India itself. It was also the time when some of the major Puranas (texts expounding the basis of Hinduism) were compiled.
The head is obviously part of a larger sculpture, but we do not know whether it was originally full-length or whether it projected from a mukhalingam (the primordial phallic symbol of Shiva). It is also not known whether the moustache is part of the original conception or whether it was added later. Here the god is shown in human form and in contemplative mode. Note the rich colour of the sandstone, and the face which conveys both “serene and severe meditation”. Powerfully executed, the head conjures up a feeling of the inner strength and power of the god. Notice the sculpted curls of the hair (the long matted locks of the ascetic) and the third eye in his forehead which is symbolically the seat of the fire of destruction (see Shiva Nataraja over).