Cleveland Museum of Art

Bodhisattva Maitreya: The Future Buddha

Date

1100s

Medium

silver inlaid with turquoise, copper, brass and gold; gilt bronze lotus

Culture

East India, Bengal, Pala period, 12th century

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Dressed as a prince like all bodhisattvas, Maitreya is identifiable by the pot of nectar of immortality above his left shoulder. According to Buddhists, Maitreya will be reborn in the distant future to renew and reestablish the religion of Buddhism on earth, like the historical Buddha Shakyamuni did in the 400s BC. The blue paint on his hair indicates that this sculpture was used in Tibet. It was probably brought to Tibet, likely during the 1100s to 1200s when Buddhists relocated en masse from politically unstable northeastern India to Nepal and Tibet, where Buddhism was expanding and Indian masters, texts, and art were in high demand.

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