Manjuvajra Mandala
Unknown Artist
11th century
Medium
Black stone
Dimensions
H. 46 in. (116.8 cm); W. 24 in. (61 cm); D. 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm)
Classification
Sculpture
Culture & Period
Bangladesh or India (Bengal) · Pala period
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Cora Timken Burnett, 1956
Accession Number
57.51.6
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking 11th-century black stone sculpture *Manjuvajra Mandala*, hails from the Pala period in Bengal (modern-day Bangladesh or eastern India), a golden era for Buddhist art. Carved from a single block of dark stone, it stands an impressive 46 inches tall, depicting the tantric deity Manjuvra—a fierce, multi-armed form of the bodhisattva Manjushri, wisdom's embodiment. Surrounding the central figure are attendant bodhisattvas, stup, and symbolic swords, evoking a three-dimensional mandala that serves as a meditative map of the cosmos. In Pala workshops, artisans excelled in rendering in...