Patravahaka yaksha

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This nature-spirit personification—a yaksha—is a sculptural tour de force. He is a commanding presence, wearing a finely detailed hairband and a heavy necklace distinguished by back-to-back makaras (mythological sea monsters) framing a central jewel. His powerful chest gives way to a corpulent stomach, emblematic of wealth, that hangs over his tightly drawn knotted waist-sash. Such a fully realized figure, with equally pronounced musculature on the reverse, marks an important moment in the early development of Indian freestanding sculpture. The raised arms suggest that he had a caryatid- or architectural load-bearing-type function. He likely held aloft a sculpted bowl filled with intoxicating liquids and perhaps the ritual drink soma. Yakshas of this type would have been honored by name, but few have their identities preserved.

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