365 Days at the Met

November 30, 2018 Gallery 239 contains just three large sculptures from the Pandya dynasty, which ruled in southern India (Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka) in the 8th and 9th centuries.  Displayed at the center is an outsized statue of Vishnu, perhaps nine feet tall from the tip of his toe to the top of his crown. He is flanked by smaller statues of Garuda, his mount (shown in human rather than bird form - who knew?) and of Bhu Devi, one of his consorts.  While there is no indication that the statues originally appeared together, they are stylistically consistent and positioned  in such a way as to give us a sense of what a similar arrangement would have looked like in situ. The  gallery's dim light reinforces my sense of how  impressive it all must have been. But I read that both the Vishnu and Devi figures, made of granite and something called granulite, were meant to be plastered and polychromed. I think the statues' plain gray surfaces add to the sense of ...

November 29, 2018 Gallery 238 centers on carved reliefs and small statues from northeastern India (what are now Bihar, West Bengal, and Bangladesh) made between the 8th and 13th centuries under the Pala and Sena dynasties. I am comforted to learn that Hinduism and Buddhism existed in close and peaceful conjunction with each other and shared many artistic conventions; this at least helps explain my confusion about just what the images I'm looking at represent. I'm immediately drawn to a large stone relief from the Pala period, during the second half of the 9th century, showing the goddess Durga killing the buffalo demon Manisha. Then I see two more depictions of the same story- a small (pehaps 5 inches high) stone sculpture from the 12th century and a 12th century brass altar shrine some 20 inches tall - and I think it would be interesting to compare the three works. Durga, I read, is a manifestation of Devi, the supreme goddess.  Devi is usually peaceful and b...

November 26, 2018 Gallery 237 repays close attention. It contains perhaps 40 small statuettes and other objects  that mostly depict Hindu and Buddhist figures,  carved  of stone, brass, marble, and other substances,. The statuettes date from the 7th through the 14th centuries and come from Kashmir, Afghanistan, the Swat Valley, Western Tibet, and other areas in the northwestern part of the subcontinent.   Virtually all the statuettes are elaborately detailed. I smile to myself when I identify successfully an image of Vishnu, recognizable from the heads of his avatars, a lion and a boar, that accompany the god, and an image of Shiva, with his distinctive, multilayered chignon. That said, I'm not always sure whether a crowned figure represents a Hindu god or a Buddha (or bodhisattva)! One thing that strikes me is the similarity of some iconographic representations across cultures. Donors, for example, are often shown as much smaller figures at the bas...

November 14, 2018 Gallery 236 contains some Gandharan objects, but the preponderance of the works come from the Gupta period (4th-6th century C.E.) and as such, according to a placard on the wall, represent codifications of the ways in which Buddhist and Hindu figures traditionally came to be represented. Today's object is a terracotta roundel, perhaps 5 inches in diameter, which shows a Hindu deity racing through the air while holding his consort. The caption says that that the figures are "probably Shiva and Parvati," although I am not sure what attributes enable this identification, outside of his flowing hair.  I'm not utterly in love with the piece -- the background of the figures, adorned with lotuses (?) and vines, seems cluttered. But I'm wowed by the swirling energy of Shiva, whose curved form fits the rounded plaque perfectly, and by the tenderness with which he holds his lover. The fleshy torsos and limbs - and her huge breasts - make th...

November 9, 2018 Gallery 235 brings me to the art of Gandhara. I check the map and am reminded (if I ever solidly knew) that Gandhara was located between present-day Afghanistan and Kashmir. It is sobering to be reminded that two millennia aago, this now war-toron area was a great center of trade, culture, and ethnic diversity.   It's hard not to love Gandharan art, to respond to the way that classical influences imported from the Roman empire are integrated into Hindu and Buddhist images.  One third-century stele depicting the death of the Buddha reminds me of any number of early Christian sarcophagi showing the death  of the Virgin. The Buddha's inert, recumbent body is surrounded by mourners whose sad faces and raised arms indicate their grief.  I usually want to write about just one object, but today I can't resist examining two, both of which illustrate the integration of classical forms into S outh Asian religions. One is a 2nd or 3rd cent...

November 8, 2018 I am happy to be returning to my project after what seems like a long interval, and happy, too, to be embarking on the South Asian galleries. These seem so familiar and accessible to me, whether because I visited them before my first trip to India or because there is something so human and sensual about the images. Gallery 234 contains objects dating from the first two millennia  B.C.E.  I note several clay figures of goddesses with slim torsos and huge breasts and a wonderful clay figure of a girl riding a platform drawn by two Brahma bulls. I'm also intrigued by a large round dish whose interior is incised with the image of a bee fertilizing a lotus flower. Fecundity everywhere! But how could I resist writing about this small square plaque, perhaps 2 inches on a side (the photo is probably slightly larger than the plaque itself), from the 1st century B.C.E. (the Shunga period)? It shows an elaborately coiffed man, clad in earrings, armband, ...

October 29, 2018  I had expected to begin my exploration of the South Asian collection today. Instead, gallery 233 turns out to be a sizable room filled with objects from Korea - largely ceramics, but also a wonderful contemporary scroll painting of lotuses and carp, a couple of bronze statuettes of bodhisattvas, and some long gold earrings. (The latter were apparently worn by both men and women.) I'm struck by the skill of the artists, but also by a pervasive sense of energy reflected in their creations. Painted wares, for instance, often show twisting, sinuous forms and rather free brushwork. It's a nice introduction to an art I'd never thought much about and am now mildly intrigued by. Today's object impresses because of the elaborateness of its decoration. It's a long-necked yet sturdy-looking earthware jar, perhaps 15 inches high and equally wide at its widest point, from the 7th or 8th century. Both the neck and the body of the jar are adorned with ho...