Three Celestial Attendants

Three Celestial Attendants

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The two female figures at left wear beaded textile headdresses typical of the female attendants represented in Kizil paintings, while the male figure at right wears an elaborate turban with diadems. The white highlights used to accentuate the nose and eyebrows of the male figure reflect a technique also employed in the wall paintings of Afghanistan. The presence of halos suggests that these figures were part of a host of celestial beings surrounding a Buddha in a heavenly realm.

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.