Foliate Pedestal for a Buddhist Image

Foliate Pedestal for a Buddhist Image

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This foliate pedestal supported an icon (now missing), probably of a seated Buddhist deity in an articulated lotus-bud mandala. The finely modeled openwork design is enhanced with independently cast and gilded ornaments, two of which survive: a flame motif and a conch shell. The Burmese provenance is a reminder of the close connections that existed between eastern India and the Burmese kingdom of Pagan in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Foliate Pedestal for a Buddhist ImageFoliate Pedestal for a Buddhist ImageFoliate Pedestal for a Buddhist ImageFoliate Pedestal for a Buddhist ImageFoliate Pedestal for a Buddhist Image

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.