The Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future

The Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Maitreya, the messianic bodhisattva characterized as the Buddha of the Future, stands in a graciously exaggerated posture, the body beautifully counterbalanced. He holds his raised hand in the gesture of exposition (vitarka mudra) and in his lowered hand displays a flask (kamandalu) universally understood in South Asian culture as the container of amrta, the elixir of life. In a Buddhist setting, the flask is understood as the promise of Maitreya’s coming. The elegant aesthetics of this sculpture embody contemporary eastern Indian Pala styles, yet it displays a startling elegance combined with an almost austere economy of surface decoration: jewelry is restrained, textile patterns minimally suggested. The scale is exceptional, as is the aesthetic sensibility of the artist responsible for this work.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha of the FutureThe Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha of the FutureThe Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha of the FutureThe Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha of the FutureThe Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future

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.