Handle with Intertwined Figures

Handle with Intertwined Figures

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This elaborate openwork handle for a ritual vessel is composed of a five intertwined nagas, snake deities charged with the protection of the earth’s waters and its riches. The nagas appear with human torsos, snake hoods, jewels, crowns, and extended snakes bodies. As this handle likely formed part of vessel for ritual lustration, naga imagery would be highly propitious.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Handle with Intertwined FiguresHandle with Intertwined FiguresHandle with Intertwined FiguresHandle with Intertwined FiguresHandle with Intertwined Figures

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.