Cleveland Museum of Art

Figure of a Maitreya on a Tiered Pedestal

Date

c. 1200

Medium

gilded wood with polychrome

Culture

Nepal

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The pendant legs of this image indicate that he is the next historical figure to achieve enlightenment and spread Buddhist teachings in a future time when the current historical Buddha's teachings will have been forgotten. Nepalese artists were famous for their skill in woodcarving. Since wood is scarce in Tibet, Nepalese woodworkers were invited to import materials and work in wealthy Tibetan monasteries and palaces and were important transmitters of styles and iconographies.

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