Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This four-armed Avalokiteshvara exemplifies the finest qualities associated with the pan-Asian cult of the savior bodhisattva. Through its grace and humanism, the work embodies the qualities of compassion central to Buddhist ethics. It may have been made in Sumatra or in the Malay Peninsula, regions linked by commercial activity in which religious imagery could readily circulate. Chinese pilgrim sources tell of major monasteries that prospered in both areas. cat. no. 158

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.