Hiten

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Hiten (Sanskrit, apsaras), bodhisattvas who fly on clouds around the Buddha, are often represented playing musical instruments. They are important elements in the representation of his realm and appear on the rim of mandorlas behind statues of the Buddha and on the walls of Buddhist halls. While East Asian hiten are wingless, those from India and Central Asia tend to be winged and in this respect may be associated with the angels of Christianity, who perhaps evolved from the winged deities of ancient Iran. Unlike angels, however, hiten never seem to have acquired a spiritual function. Buddhist airborne deities' ability to fly is suggested by their fluttering scarves, their body postures, and their placement in the Buddha's realm. The strong modeling of this hiten, suggesting the large statue that it originally accompanied, reflects a tenth-century date.

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