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Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

second half of the 7th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 245
This bodhisattva of compassion is represented as an ascetic, dressed in a waistcloth secured with a cord, the details incised into the contours of his torso. He has a flayed antelope skin (ajina) across his left shoulder, an attribute of the earliest representations of this bodhisattva in early seventh-century northern India. The cult of Avalokiteshvara assumed special importance in Mahayana Buddhism during this period. Soon after its development in India, it was shared with Southeast Asian practitioners.

cat. no. 133

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
  • Date: second half of the 7th century
  • Culture: Southern Thailand
  • Medium: Sandstone
  • Dimensions: H. 17 3/4 in. (45.1 cm); W. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm); D. 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Ex Coll.: Columbia University, Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1987
  • Object Number: 1987.218.16
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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