Vishnu Venkateshvara, Lord of Tirupati

Tirupati School, South India

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Vishnu is here depicted as Venkateshwara, “Lord of the Hill,” a form distinctive to Tirupati in southern Andhra Pradesh, where the divinity’s temple is situated high on a ridge of seven hills. The image celebrates Vishnu as he who relieves all suffering in this Age. Richly bejeweled, he wears a towering conical crown set with jewels. He is flanked by two consorts: Lakshmi, the auspicious goddess of prosperity, and Padmavathi, a local goddess whom Vishnu married. The Tirupati temple is famed as India’s greatest pilgrimage center with some 50,000 to 100,000 worshippers coming daily. It is the most visited temple in the modern world, and the richest.

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