Maitreya, the messianic bodhisattva characterized as the Buddha of the Future, stands in a graciously exaggerated posture, the body beautifully counterbalanced. He holds his raised hand in the gesture of exposition (vitarka mudra) and in his lowered hand displays a flask (kamandalu) universally understood in South Asian culture as the container of amrta, the elixir of life. In a Buddhist setting, the flask is understood as the promise of Maitreya’s coming. The elegant aesthetics of this sculpture embody contemporary eastern Indian Pala styles, yet it displays a startling elegance combined with an almost austere economy of surface decoration: jewelry is restrained, textile patterns minimally suggested. The scale is exceptional, as is the aesthetic sensibility of the artist responsible for this work.
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Artwork Details
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Title:The Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future
Period:Thakuri period
Date:11th century
Culture:Nepal
Medium:Copper alloy with gilding and color
Dimensions:H. 26 in. (66 cm); W. 8 1/4 in. (20.9 cm)
Classification:Sculpture
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1982
Object Number:1982.220.12
[ Doris Wiener Gallery , New York, by 1969, sold to Heeramaneck]; [ Alice N. Heeramaneck , New York, by 1972 until 1973, sold to Humann]; Christian Humann , New York (1973 until d. in 1981, estate sale by Ellsworth to MMA); [ R. H. Ellsworth Ltd. , New York, 1982, sold to MMA]
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection," October 25, 1977–January 15, 1978.
Grand Palais, Paris. "Visions du futur: une histoire des peurs et des espoirs de l'humanité," October 3, 2000–January 1, 2001.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of the Himalayas," December 15, 2010–December 4, 2011.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Crowns of the Vajra Masters: Ritual Art of Nepal," December 16, 2017–December 16, 2018.
Pal, Pratapaditya. "Bronzes of Nepal." Arts of Asia 4, no. 5 (1974). p. 35.
James Fitzsimmons. "The Art of Nepal." Art International - Incorporating Art Spectrum, 20, no. 1-2, January/ February 1976. p. 33.
Pal, Pratapaditya. The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculpture from the Pan-Asian Collection. Exh. cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, [1977], cat. no. 95a.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983, p. 252, fig. 28.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Notable Acquisitions, 1982–1983. n.s., Vol. 41 (1983), p. 81.
Barnhart, Richard M. (Introduction). The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Asia. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987, pp. 144–45, pl. 98.
Burn, Barbara, ed. Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993, p. 169.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. 2nd ed., New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994, p. 104, fig. 28.
Kossak, Steven M. "The Arts of South and Southeast Asia." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. n.s., Vol. 51, no. 4 (Spring 1994),
pp. 60–61, fig. 55.
Kossak, Steven M. "The Arts of South and Southeast Asia: New Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum." Minerva. Vol. 5 no. 4 (July–August, 1994), p. 12, fig. 13.
Steven M. Kossak. "Nepalese and Tibetan Art." Arts of Asia, 24, no. 2, March–April 1994. p. 107, fig. 3.
Reedy, Chandra L. Himalayan Bronzes: Technology, Style and Choices. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1997.
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