Figure of a Maitreya on a Tiered Pedestal (c. 1200): Art, History and Details

Figure of a Maitreya on a Tiered Pedestal (c. 1200) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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.

Object facts

• Title: Figure of a Maitreya on a Tiered Pedestal
• Date: c. 1200
• Culture: Nepal
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: gilded wood with polychrome
• Dimensions: Overall: 21.3 x 14.6 cm (8 3/8 x 5 3/4 in.)
• Collection: Nepalese Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1972.220

Collection credit

Gift of George P. Bickford

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.