Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Brahman Priest, probably Agastya
Not on view
This figure likely represents the Vedic sage Agastya, Shiva’s supreme devotee. Praised for his devotion in the most ancient Indian texts—the Vedas and the Puranas—Agastya was much revered in Southeast Asia, especially in Java. That this image was found in the Malay Peninsula points to his wider following in the region. Brahman priests and sages (rishi) are assumed to have played a key role as agents of change in first-millennium Southeast Asia. Some rose to high office, establishing a hereditary priestly class that served successive rulers, advising in statecraft as well as spiritual matters.
cat. no. 105
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