Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Narasimha, the man-lion avatar of Vishnu
Afghanistan or northern Pakistan
Not on view
The mighty Narasimha pensively rests on his battle club, a distinctive posture preserved in Kashmiri sculpture and a famous Chamba valley bronze signed by the mid-seventh-century artist Gugga. A crescent moon and gemstone medallion adorn his diadem, a motif also seen in seventh-century Kashmir sculpture and attributed to Sasanian contact from Iran. This image was created at a time when the cult of Narasimha assumed regal status across northern India under the Vakataka, a rival household to the Gupta dynasty, and penetrated the Indic kingdoms of the northwest.
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