Prajnaparamita, Goddess of Wisdom
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Prajnaparamita, meaning “perfection of knowledge,” was an important cult divinity in Mahayana Buddhism during the later first millennium. She probably emerged from monasteries in southern India as a Buddhist counterpart to the Brahmanical wisdom goddess Lakshmi. Stylistically, this image is related to the late Polonnaruwa style of Sri Lanka, and bears witness to the role of Sri Lankan institutionalized Buddhism as an evangelizing force in late first-millennium Southeast Asia.
cat. no. 8
cat. no. 8
Artwork Details
- Title: Prajnaparamita, Goddess of Wisdom
- Date: ca. late 8th–9th century
- Culture: Sri Lanka, probably Polonnaruva
- Medium: Copper alloy with traces of gilding
- Dimensions: H. 5 7/8 in. (15 cm); W. 5 1/8 in. (13 cm); D. 2 3/4 in. (7 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Lent by Victoria and Albert Museum, London (IS.21-1988)
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art