Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Bodhisattva AvalokiteshvaraBodhisattva AvalokiteshvaraBodhisattva AvalokiteshvaraBodhisattva AvalokiteshvaraBodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

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.