Panel of a Portable Shrine

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Such portable shrines from Gandhara have been found in Khotan, providing a rare glimpse into how style and religious iconography traveled into Central Asia. The upper register in the interior illustrates the Buddha’s miraculous birth and the lower presents the Parinirvana, his death.

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