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Collections

Unknown
The Bodhisattva Maitreya11th century

Not on view
Gray stone relief sculpture of a four-armed seated deity in crossed-leg pose on a lotus throne, with elaborate crown and layered beaded jewelry, set against a carved arched backplate
Stone sculpture of a crowned deity seated in lalitasana on a lotus base, wearing elaborate jewelry and a tall crown, set against an arched prabhavali with carved floral scrollwork, rendered in fine-grained gray stone.
Gray stone relief sculpture of a crowned bodhisattva figure with multiple arms, wearing elaborate jewelry including layered necklaces and armlets, set against a carved arched aureole with scrolling details. Finely carved facial features and tall ornate crown with stacked decorative elements.
Stone sculpture, close-up of a bodhisattva head with downcast eyes and a urna mark on the forehead, wearing an elaborate jatamukuta crown with coiled and foliate decoration, circular nimbus behind, finely carved surface detail.
Stone sculpture, close-up of a deity figure with a tall cylindrical crown featuring layered horizontal bands and intricate carved ornament, multiple beaded necklaces, and a circular prabhamandala halo with foliate relief behind the head.

Unknown, The Bodhisattva Maitreya, 11th century (alternate view), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Artist or Maker
Unknown
Title
The Bodhisattva Maitreya
Place Made
India, Bihar, Gaya District
Date Made
11th century
Medium
Schist
Dimensions
33 x 18 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (83.82 x 46.99 x 26.67 cm)
Credit Line
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase
Accession Number
M.69.13.7
Classification
Sculpture
Collecting Area
South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes

Maitreya, the Buddha of the future, is represented in this graceful image. He has an ascetic’s piled hair with a miniature stupa (funerary monument) in his headdress that identifies him as Maitreya. He wears copious jewelry, including the Brahmanical sacred thread (yajnopavita) worn over his left shoulder. He is seated on a lotus base in the posture of royal ease (maharajalila asana). His right hand (now missing) was likely held in the gesture of discourse (vitarka mudra). His left hand holds a flowering stalk of the nagakeshara tree (Mesua ferrea) with a diminutive vessel containing the elixir of immortality in the flower head. His right foot rests on a projecting lotus pedestal. The sole of his left foot is graced with a sacred marking (lakshana).

A companion image of Avalokiteshvara is now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (63.418). Together they would have originally flanked a larger Buddha image.


Selected Bibliography
  • Pal, Pratapaditya. Indian Sculpture, vol.2. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1988.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya; Dehejia, Vidya; Slusser, Mary Shepherd; Fisher, Robert E.; Brown, Robert L. Arts of Asia 15 (6): 68-125 (November- December 1985).
  • Newman, Richard. The Stone Sculpture of India: a Study of the Materials Used by Indian Sculptors from ca. 2nd Century B.C. to the 16th Century. Cambridge, MA: Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard University Art Museums, 1984.

  • El Universo de la India: Obras Maestras del Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Angeles. Santiago: Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda, 2012.

  • Little, Stephen, Tushara Bindu Gude, Karina Romero Blanco, Silvia Seligson, Marco Antonio Karam. Las Huellas de Buda. Ciudad de México : Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2018.
  • Little, Stephen, and Tushara Bindu Gude. Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art across Asia. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2025.