Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Brahmanical Stele
Not on view
This stele depicts emblems symbolizing the Brahmanical gods arranged on a ritual altar in an open shrine (mandapa). At left is a holy-water vessel encircled by a rosary, the principal attributes of Brahma, supported on the bloom of a lotus flower. At center is a trishula, Shiva’s trident, with a wide-bladed ax below. At right are Vishnu’s discus weapon and conch shell, his war trumpet. The open pavilion and altar are closely related to architectural structures preserved at the seventh-century Khmer city of Sambor Prei Kuk. The ritual utensils depicted here were likely displayed in such a shrine during worship.
cat. no. 85
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
