Gods and Goddesses: The Early Buddhist Imagery of South Asia

Kurt Behrendt, Assistant Curator, Asian Art, MMA

The multifaceted deities of the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious faiths are at the foundation of one of the world’s great sculptural traditions. Images created in stone and bronze gave lasting form to a vast pantheon of deities, and were the focus of devotion across the Indian subcontinent since at least the third century B.C. This three-part lecture series addresses the historic and religious history of South Asia, focusing on the great periods of artistic production.

This week, The Early Buddhist Imagery of South Asia.

View the series

Tickets to this event include Museum admission.

Image: Dancing Celestial Deity (Devata). India, early 12th century. Sandstone, H. 33 1/2 in. (85.1 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Promised Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving (L.1993.88.2)