Lintel with Garuda
Unknown Artist
875–925
Medium
sandstone
Dimensions
52.6 × 118.1 × 17.8 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1967.37
About this artwork
Garuda is half man, half eagle, and the mount of Vishnu. His nose is beaklike, and his wings are carved in an exuberant foliate manner, like the swirling leaves that grow from the stem that arches across the middle of the panel. The vegetation yields female figures and jewels before it resolves itself into the heads of a cobra. Garuda is the natural enemy of the serpents, so he holds their tails in check. This decorative lintel is carved in the style of those made for a temple dedicated to the p...