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Photography by Bruce M. White. The Rubin Museum of Art. 2011.
Bodhisattva Maitreya
Photography by Bruce M. White. The Rubin Museum of Art. 2011.
Photography by Bruce M. White. The Rubin Museum of Art. 2011.

Bodhisattva Maitreya

OriginTibet
Date17th - 19th century
Dimensions16 1/2 × 10 1/4 × 7 7/8 in.
MediumMetal alloy
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art, Gift of Ralph Redford
Object numberC2008.22
Himalayan Art Resources Number57005
DescriptionMaitreya is one of the great bodhisattvas and is said to reside in the realm of Tushita, awaiting his time to be born as a human and become the Buddha of the Future. As such, He is a popular figure in all of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and is venerated by monks as well as the laity. Maitreya is often depicted as a youth with a stupa as his attribute. Here he is crowned and bejeweled and holds a lotus that supports an ewer, another of his attributes.