Enthroned Jina Attended by a Yaksha, a Yakshi, and Chauri-Bearers

Enthroned Jina Attended by a Yaksha, a Yakshi, and Chauri-Bearers

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This Digambara icon from the Deccan shows a jina meditating beneath a flowering tree, follow the conventions seen in Buddhist sculptures of the period. As in Buddhist images, the jina is flanked by attendants—the nature-deity yaksha and yakshi replacing the bodhisattvas—and fly-whisk bearers gesturing their readiness to fan him. A lion-supported throne and triple umbrellas confirm the regal status. Rock-cut versions of such compositions appear frequently in the Pandyan territories of northern Tamil Nadu in the eighth and ninth centuries, a date range to which this bronze can be assigned.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Enthroned Jina Attended by a Yaksha, a Yakshi, and Chauri-BearersEnthroned Jina Attended by a Yaksha, a Yakshi, and Chauri-BearersEnthroned Jina Attended by a Yaksha, a Yakshi, and Chauri-BearersEnthroned Jina Attended by a Yaksha, a Yakshi, and Chauri-BearersEnthroned Jina Attended by a Yaksha, a Yakshi, and Chauri-Bearers

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.