Linga with Face of Shiva (Ekamukhalinga)
Unknown Artist
9th century
Medium
White marble
Dimensions
H. 22 7/16 in. (57 cm); W. 13 3/16 in. (33.5 cm)
Classification
Sculpture
Culture & Period
Afghanistan · Shahi period
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1980
Accession Number
1980.415
Tags
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Asian Art galleries, where we encounter the *Linga with Face of Shiva (Ekamukhalinga)*, a striking 9th-century white marble sculpture from Afghanistan's Shahi period. Standing 22 inches tall and 13 inches wide, this piece depicts the sacred linga—an abstract, columnar symbol of the Hindu god Shiva—adorned with a single face, known as *ekamukha* ("one-faced"). Crafted by an unknown artist, its smooth, luminous marble surface captures Shiva's serene yet powerful visage, blending divine abstraction with human-like features. The Shahi period (roughly 7th–10th centuries) marked a vi...