The Goddess Mahasitavati, Folio from a Buddhist Manuscript
Unknown Artist
ca. 12th century
Medium
Opaque watercolor on palm leaf
Dimensions
2 1/16 x 10 3/4 in. (5.3 x 27.3 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Nepal · Karnata-Malla period
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Arnold and Susan Lieberman, 1987
Accession Number
1987.246
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Goddess Mahasitavati, Folio from a Buddhist Manuscript*, exquisite 12th-century treasure from Nepal's Karnataalla period. This slender painting captures the fierce yet protective Buddhist goddess Mahasitavati, a tantric deity revered in Vajrayana traditions for her role in spiritual protection and enlightenment. Crafted during a golden age of Nepalese art under Malla dynasty influences from southern India, it reflects the vibrant fusion of Hindu and Buddhist iconography in the Kathmandu Valley, where such illuminated manuscripts preserved sacred texts for monastic use. Rendered in...