Buddha Offering Protection

Buddha Offering Protection

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This imposing Buddha makes the abhaya mudra gesture with his right hand, conveying compassionate protection, while his left hand supports the sweeping fall of the monastic robe (uttarsanga). The icon’s monumentality is exceptional for the period. It provides a stylistic bridge between a great eighth-century late-Anuradhapura-style rock-cut Buddha at Avukana and the full-bodied figures with robes in stylized water-patterning folds of the successive Kandyan period.

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.