Kalki Avatar, the Future Incarnation of Vishnu: Page from a Dispersed Manuscript

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

It is interesting to compare this version of Kalki Avatar with an earlier Basohli example (1991.32.1) in the collection. The basic format is the same, though the entire composition has been flopped. The Basohli work probably formed the inspiration for the present one. Here, the shallower space of the earlier picture has become deeper. The groom and horse inhabit the foreground; the hero, the middle ground; and the hilltop and distant trees, the background. The hero's throne and fringed canopy are shown in an incipient perspective. The color is more naturalistic and the setting has a tangible sense of reality. Only the golden wings of the horse are new and fabulous.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art