Sculpture
 7 Mar 2016 Sculpture
Shiva as Slayer of the Elephant Demon, 1000s

South India, Tamil Nadu, early Chola Period, 11th century
Granite

Source: Cleveland Museum of Art Read More
 7 Mar 2016 Sculpture
Linga Altar with Four Faces of Shiva

Thakuri period
ca.1045
Nepal (Kathmandu Valley)
Copper alloy

Shiva linga are variously represented as an unadorned pillar or with one, four, or five heads of Shiva. This linga altar has a four-faced form (chaturmukha). It is banded, likely with munja grass h... Read More
 7 Mar 2016 Sculpture
Shiva as Mrityunjaya, the Conquerer of Death

Pala period
12th century
Bangladesh or India (Bengal)
Black stone

This is an extremely rare representation of Shiva as Mrityunjaya, the destroyer of death and disease. He is shown deep in meditation in yogic form, as indicated by his interlocked legs... Read More
 6 Mar 2016 Sculpture
Standing Bodisattva Maitreya (Buddha of the Future)

ca. 3rd century
Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)
Schist

Maitreya is the Buddha of the next age, much as Shakyamuni is the Buddha of our age. He resides in Tushita heaven waiting for his final rebirth. As befits his highest rebirth, he wea... Read More
 6 Mar 2016 Sculpture
The Great Departure and the Temptation of the Buddha

Ikshvaku period
ca. first half of the 3rd century
India (Andhra Pradesh, Nagarjunakonda)
Limestone

The lower scene shows Siddhartha on horseback leaving his father's palace in order to seek enlightenment. A groom leads the horse, whose hoofs ... Read More
 6 Mar 2016 Sculpture
The Dream of Queen Maya (the Buddha's Conception)

Kushan period
ca. 2nd century
Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)
Schist

Female attendants and guards, one of whom holds a sword, surround Maya, who is sleeping on a bed that has turned legs and is covered with an elegant floral textile. Maya ... Read More
 14 Feb 2016 Sculpture
A sandstone figural relief of Surya
Central India, 10th/11th Century

The solar deity standing in a frontal hieratic pose with both hands raised and holding a stylized blossoms, a small figure of his consort standing between his boots and accompanied by his two sons Shani and Yama standing on the... Read More
 14 Feb 2016 Sculpture
Surya, The Sun God
Indonesia, Central Java or Shrivijaya, 9th century
Sculpture
Copper alloy with traces of gilding

Source: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Read More
 14 Feb 2016 Sculpture
Surya, The Sun God
India, Karnataka or Andhra Pradesh, circa 1100-1150
Sculpture
Magnesian schist

Source: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Read More
 13 Feb 2016 Sculpture
Sarasvati

10th-11th century
Sandstone
Sculpture
India

Sarasvati, goddess of speech, learning, and the arts, is revered by Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists alike. Associated especially with music and knowledge, she plays the vina (a stringed instrument) and holds a palm-leaf manuscript. Here, she a... Read More
 13 Feb 2016 Sculpture
Sarasvati
6th Century
Sandstone
India

Source: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Read More
 8 Jan 2016 Sculpture
Plaque with a Royal Family
Shunga period
1st century B.C.
India (West Bengal, Chandraketugarh)
Terracotta

This family scene and the touching intimacy that permeates it are unusual in Indian terracotta. With his left hand, the man, seated on a chair, holds the back of his wife's head: she stands ... Read More
 25 Dec 2015 Sculpture
Christ the Good Shepherd
India, Goa, 17th century
Sculpture
Ivory

Source: Los Angeles County Museum of Art Read More
 11 Dec 2015 Sculpture
Shiva as the Cosmic Pillar
India, Tamil Nadu, early 12th century
Sculpture
Granulite with traces of paint

Source: Los Angeles County Museum of Art Read More
 9 Dec 2015 Sculpture
Krishna Rajamannar with His Wives, Rukmini and Satyabhama, and His Mount, Garuda
India, Tamil Nadu, late 12th-13th century
Sculpture
Copper alloy

Source: Los Angeles County Museum of Art Read More
 23 Nov 2015 Sculpture
In the beginning of the Heian period (794–1185), the priest Kūkai (774–835) brought from China into Japan a new type of Esoteric Buddhism known in Japanese as mikkyō. Esoteric Buddhist practices worshiped a wide range of deities using rituals that required special implements, mystical incantation... Read More
 21 Oct 2015 Sculpture
Standing Uma
Angkor period
ca. 975
Cambodia
Stone

© The Metropolitan Museum of Art Read More
 21 Oct 2015 Sculpture
Goddess Uma, 1000s
Nepal, 11th Century

Gilt bronze and semiprecious stones

Uma is a mother goddess, and she is depicted here as turning toward her consort, the Hindu god Shiva, a companion sculpture from which this image of Uma has been separated. The grace and femininity of this solid-cast fig... Read More
 15 Oct 2015 Sculpture
Plaque with the Goddess Durga Standing on a Lotus
Shunga period
1st century B.C.
India (West Bengal)
Wood

© The Metropolitan Museum of Art Read More
 15 Oct 2015 Sculpture
The Goddess Durga Slaying the Buffalo Demon (Durga Mahishasuramardhini)
12th century
Himachal Pradesh, probably Chamba Valley
Brass

© The Metropolitan Museum of Art Read More
 13 Oct 2015 Sculpture
Durga, Halebid - 1856

An albumen print by Richard Banner Oakeley of the mother-goddess Durga (a form of Shakti) at Halebid in Karnataka. The most important monument at the temple site of Halebid, formerly the capital of the Hoysalas of the Deccan, is the Hoysaleswara temple, dedicated to Shiva, ... Read More