Bodhisattva thumbnail 1
Bodhisattva thumbnail 2
+5
images
Not currently on display at the V&A

Bodhisattva

Sculptural Head
2nd-4th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A fragment from a carved figure of a Bodhisattva consisting of a face and front part of a turban. The features comprise sharp edges of eyebrows over heavily lidded narrow slanting eyes. The eyebrows meet in the middle over the bridge of the nose and beneath a flat and slightly raised urna. The face has full lips under a drooping moustache. The turban above has two bands ornamented with paired rows of circular link motifs knotted at the front under a cockade mounted with a lion's head.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleBodhisattva (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved schist
Brief description
Fragmentary head of a Bodhisattva, carved schist
Physical description
A fragment from a carved figure of a Bodhisattva consisting of a face and front part of a turban. The features comprise sharp edges of eyebrows over heavily lidded narrow slanting eyes. The eyebrows meet in the middle over the bridge of the nose and beneath a flat and slightly raised urna. The face has full lips under a drooping moustache. The turban above has two bands ornamented with paired rows of circular link motifs knotted at the front under a cockade mounted with a lion's head.
Style
Object history
Acquired from Evert Barger, Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Bristol and Philip Wright, V&A Museum, as part of the collection of finds excavated during their expedition to the Swat valley in 1938.This is no.139 in Barger's lists.
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic reference
Barger, E. and Wright, P., ‘Excavations in Swat and Explorations in the Oxus Territories of Afghanistan, a detailed report of the 1938 expedition’, Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India, vol. 64, Calcutta, 1941
Collection
Accession number
IM.102-1939

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest