Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Kalkin, Visnu's Future Avatar
Not on view
Kalkin is the future world savior, understood as the tenth avatar of Vishnu, who will appear in the form of a white horse to judge mankind. Vishnu appears in a number of early legends with a horse’s head, linking him to Vedic horse sacrifice. It is clear from the size and authority of this sculpture that it was worshipped as an important cult deity. It is perhaps not a coincidence that Kalkin Vishnu appears in early seventh-century Cambodia at precisely the same time as the bodhisattva Maitreya, his conceptual counterpart in Buddhism: both are worshipped as messianic saviors.
cat. no. 74
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.