Crossroads

Power and Piety

The objects gathered here reveal how premodern cultures used the visual arts to express concepts of power and piety. Imposing examples of sculpture from around the globe assert a connection between the earthly realm and the otherworldly, linking rulers to greater powers or connecting worshippers with divine support. Sculptors transformed large blocks of stone into monumental images of gods and rulers to adorn a variety of spaces. Working within specific traditions, they created objects that communicate complex ideas about political and spiritual power.

On view in gallery 305.