The Goddess Vasudhara Flanked by Kubera and a Fragmentary Durga

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

At left, Kubera sits with his consort, a deity associated with wealth. At the far right are the remains of a multi-armed goddess sitting on a lion who is almost certainly Durga. They bracket Vasudhara, who embodies the totality of Mahayana ideology symbolized by The Perfection of Wisdom manuscript she holds in her upper left hand. While the mala in her upper right hand refers to the pursuit of learning, her other attributes comment on abundance. Her lower right hand is held in varada mudra (boon-bestowing gesture), while her middle right hand holds a wish-fulfilling jewel. Her lower left hand holds a pot overflowing with foliage (purnaghata) and her middle left hand grasps a sheath of rice. The inscription at bottom relates that an artist named Kutu made the work in 1651.

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