Krishna subduing the Naga Kaliya

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Here, Krishna suppresses an evil serpent king, the nagaraja Kaliya, who is poisoning the river Yamuna in north India. This is one of the heroic acts undertaken by the youthful Krishna to combat evil and restore order (dharma) to the world, which is celebrated in the sacred text the Bhagavata Purana. The Newari metalworking community of the Kathmandu Valley excelled in copper alloy repoussé. As the premier artists of this art form, they not only supplied both the Hindu and Buddhist communities of Nepal but were in demand throughout the Tibetan plateau

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