Sculpture
 1 May 2013 Sculpture
Disk Stone with a Four-Part Design of Palmettes and Lotus Buds

Date: 1st century B.C.
Ancient region of Gandhara, Taxila
Stone
Dimensions: Diam. 1 13/16 in. (4.6 cm)
Sculpture

© The Metropolitan Museum of Art Read More
 1 May 2013 Sculpture
Female Head, terracotta, 6th-7th century, Gandharan style, Jammu, India

The site of Pambarvan, near Akhnur, appears to have been a Buddhist stupa site. Sixth century Gupta coins have been found, together with the terracotta remains of sculptural decorations, most notably a series of terracotta... Read More
 30 Apr 2013 Sculpture
Representation of Mañjuśrī

Figure (Manjusri). Holding lotus and flanked by scrolled borders.
Made of sandstone.

Findspot: Nalanda

ca. 8th Century

© Trustees of the British Museum Read More
 28 Apr 2013 Sculpture
Relief showing the Descent of the Buddha from Trayastrimsa Heaven, grey schist, 3rd century AD, Gandhara.

The Buddha chose to ascend to the heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods (Trayastrimsa, equivalent to Indra's Svarga Heaven) in order to preach to the gods and his mother who also resided to eart... Read More
 27 Apr 2013 Sculpture
Relief plaque, moulded Terracotta, Kausambi.
Circa 1st century BC

The upper part of a terracotta plaque with a moulded relief of a full-frontal female head and upper torso. The plaque has an arched top with a rounded moulding below which at the centre there is a hole. The female has an elabor... Read More
 27 Apr 2013 Sculpture
Seated Buddha figure in pleated robes, torso with missing head and hands, pink mottled sandstone, Mathura.

Early 3rd century.

Seated Buddha, with highly developed physical displaying 'inner breath' (prana) beneath the articulated folds of the monastic robes. The yogic posture is combined wi... Read More
 20 Mar 2013 Sculpture
Four-armed Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion, ca. second quarter of 8th century
Prakhon Chai, Buriram Province, Thailand
Bronze with high tin content; silver and black-glass or obsidian inlay in eyes
H. 56 in. (142.2 cm)

In the Buddhist pantheon, the Bodhisattva Avalok... Read More
 20 Mar 2013 Sculpture
Head of Krishna(?)
Si Thep style, 7th century
Thailand (Phetchabun Province)
Stone
H. 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm)

Although this head is closely related to Pre-Angkor sculpture, the facial features show close affinities with the emerging Mon-Dvaravati style of Thailand. Typical of the production of... Read More
 20 Mar 2013 Sculpture
Linga with One Face of Shiva (Ekamukhalinga)
Mon-Dvaravati period, 7th–early 8th century
Thailand (Phetchabun Province, Si Thep)
Stone
H. 55 1/8 in. (140 cm)

Kings established monumental lingas throughout Thailand in the seventh and eighth centuries. Clearly Shaivism was important to these... Read More
 20 Mar 2013 Sculpture
Essay:
The Mon-Dvaravati Tradition of Early North-Central Thailand
By Kurt Behrendt
Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Between the seventh and ninth centuries, multiple competing kingdoms emerged in central Thailand and it is at this time that the earliest Buddhist and ... Read More
 20 Mar 2013 Sculpture
Standing Hari-Hara
Pre-Angkor period, Prasat Andet style
Late 7th–early 8th century
Cambodia or Vietnam

Stone
35 1/2 x 13 3/8 in. (90.2 x 34 cm)

The veneration of a composite of Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara) was popular in the Mekong Delta area in the seventh and eighth centuries. Shiv... Read More
 10 Mar 2013 Sculpture
Shiva
Sitting statue with four arms, Dieng Plateau, Java - 1864

Photographer: Van Kinsbergen
(Brugge 1821 - Batavia 1905)

Source: Rijksmuseum Read More
 25 Jan 2013 Sculpture
Calligraphic dragon head
Golconda, 2nd half of the 17th century - 1st half of the 18th century

This brass openwork dragon or makara head was a finial piece from a religious standard (alam) displayed at a Shi’a Muslim shrine. It is composed of Arabic script: “Help is from God and Victory near”... Read More
 17 Jan 2013 Sculpture
Statue of four-armed goddess with child (?Devi) and other fragments of sculpture, Rajaona, Monghyr District - 1871

Photograph of a statue of a four-armed goddess with child (Devi?) and other fragments of sculpture from Rajaona, Monghyr (Munger) District, taken by Joseph David Beglar around 187... Read More
 17 Jan 2013 Sculpture
Buddha Shakyamuni, Sandstone, Bodhgaya, eastern India, 9th-10th century

This sculpture captures the inner calm and tranquillity of Buddhahood. Here the Buddha is seated in a meditation posture on a lotus pedestal, with hands in ‘dharmacakramudra’. He is expounding the Buddhist law ('dharma'), an... Read More
 9 Nov 2012 Sculpture
SALABHANJIKA
Nepal
13th -14th c.
Wood with traces of pigment
Height: 41.5 in.

Source: Nancy Wiener Gallery Inc. Read More
 9 Nov 2012 Sculpture
Female bust
India, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan
Period: Medieval tenth and eleventh century AD
Sandstone
H. : 78 cm - L. : 38 cm

(Translation attributed to the Google translator from the original in French):

Since ancient times, India dedicated to the woman a special devotion. Figurine... Read More
 9 Nov 2012 Sculpture
Tree Dryad (Shalabhanjika)
12th–13th century
India (Orissa)
Ferruginous stone
Dimensions: H. 42 1/2 in. (108 cm); W. 14 in. (35.6 cm)

Integrated into the carved facades of Indian temples is a host of seductive females whose identifications are not always apparent. Some are nature spirits.... Read More
 9 Nov 2012 Sculpture
Sculpture piece excavated from the Stupa at Bharhut: Pillar with Culakoka devata - 1874

Photograph of part of a pillar depicting a jetavana scene, excavated from the stupa at Bharhut taken by Joseph David Beglar in 1874. We cannot be sure what part of the stupa this piece came from, however it... Read More
 9 Nov 2012 Sculpture
Sandstone figure of Shalabhanjika Yakshi

From stupa 1 at Sanchi, Central India
1st century AD

For a bracket from a stupa gateway

The Great Stupa at Sanchi is said to contain the relics of the Buddha himself. The form of the stupa was a development of the ancient practice of erecting a h... Read More