Manuscript Cover with the Bodhisattva Manjushri Flanked by Vajrapani and Avalokiteshvara

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the center, Manjushri brandishes his sword to cut through ignorance and provide the reader with greater access to the text. At right, Avalokiteshvara holds a lotus and clasps his hands in a gesture of veneration (anjali mudra), addressing the reader’s false sense of reality governed by ego and attachment. At left, the striding bodhisattva Vajrapani provides the energy of enlightenment to empower the subtle doctrine of the text. This three-dimensional carved cover presents these bodhisattvas on thrones in elaborate shrine-like enclosures, which are set within a field of roiling clouds.

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