Two humped camels were favored for packing heavy loads over the difficult desert terrain that made up much of the Silk Road, and models of camels were popular among Tang dynasty funerary ceramics. This particularly fine and large example depicts a camel carrying a large load of goods that rests on an elliptical cushion with pleated edges between the animal’s two bent humps. Many sculptures of this type have been damaged when the underground tombs in which they were buried collapsed or through improper handling. X-rays of this piece show that it was broken into several pieces and was conserved in the rather rough fashion common several decades ago. A metal coat hanger was used as an armature to reinforce certain of the breaks.

Based on Buddhist guardian images, this pair of fierce military figures trampling on demons was made to keep unwanted spirits out of a tomb. Though the goals of Buddhism and Chinese ancestor worship seem at odds (Buddhism sought an end to the cycle of birth and death, while ancestor worship sought to perpetuate the spirit of the dead), the two practices did become adapted to one another, as suggested by this artwork.

Many southern Indian images of Shiva, like this one, hold a battle-ax and a deer. “Hold” is perhaps not the right word: sometimes, especially in sculptures from later centuries, a deity’s symbolic implements appear not so much held as elegantly balanced on the tips of the fingers. A long Telugu language inscription on the front of the throne tells the name of the donor (and his father and grandfather) and says that the sculpture was made for the Ekambareshvara Temple in the city of Kanchipuram. This temple was founded by the ruler of the south Indian kingdom of Vijayanagara in 1509. Bronzes similar to this one, showing Shiva and his wife and son, had, by this period, been made for several centuries. The prongs on either side of the throne would have supported a horseshoe-shaped bronze halo (now lost) arching over the figures. The metal rings on the base suggest that this sculpture would have been carried in procession during important religious festivals.

The Buddha images of the former kingdom of Sukhothai in north central Thailand (mid-1200s to 1438) are the ideal of beauty for many Thai people even today. This head comes from such an image. From about 1350 to 1440, Sukhothai and the kingdom of Ayutthaya in central Thailand flourished simultaneously. This head exemplifies the Sukhothai kingdom’s style in the later 1300s. The oval head is all suave, echoing curves, and seems to combine serenity with a sense of radiant energy. Thermoluminescence testing has yielded a probable age for this object of 400 to 650 years. This sort of scientific dating helps museums ascertain whether or not an object is genuine. In this instance, stylistic evidence suggests that the head was made in the earlier part of the date range.

Enormous burial mounds called kofun (literally “old tombs”), often keyhole-shaped, were constructed during the Kofun period. Powerful clan chiefs were entombed in these mounds, and a variety of funerary objects were placed both in and around the mounds. Many clay cylinders, known as haniwa, were erected around the mounds, either to define a sacred area or to prevent soil erosion at the edge of the mounds. Originally plain, these clay cylinders soon came to be adorned with figures: houses, boats, animals such as horses, and humans. This haniwa warrior stands erect in complete warrior’s gear: riveted helmet, shoulder plates, armlets, and sword. His belted armor flares over billowing trousers tied below the knee.

Dressed in robes and holding a rosary, this emaciated and intense figure has the appearance of a monk. In fact, he is an example of a special group of Buddhist deities known as “arhats.” The historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, had a group of disciples who recorded his sayings and continued his teachings after he attained nirvana. These figures were deified as arhats, beings who have reached a stage of perfection through study and meditation. Unlike bodhisattvas, who are noted for their compassion, arhats are noted for their intense powers of spiritual concentration. It is common for Chinese artists to exaggerate certain features of these figures to emphasize their spiritual nature. They are often given qualities associated with Daoist immortals, and they appear in sets of varying numbers, eighteen and five hundred being the most common. Inscription: [In 1180] people everywhere [of a certain surname?] respectfully had made/donated one luohan image.

A popular form of the bodhisattva of universal compassion worshiped in Tibet, this Avalokiteshvara has eight arms, the main ones clasping a wish-granting gem. His three right hands would have carried a prayer bead, carried the “wheel of the law,” and displayed the gift-granting gesture; his left hands should carry a lotus, a bow and arrow, and a vase of ambrosia.

Legend has it that Avalokiteshvara’s head burst into ten pieces when he despaired over the fact that no matter how many creatures he had succeeded in helping, more came to take their places. His spiritual father, the buddha Amitabha, then came to his rescue. He gave Avalokiteshvara courage and shaped the broken pieces into ten heads and put his own head on top so that his spiritual son would have eleven heads to contemplate all ways of helping others. Typical of pieces from western Tibet, this image is inlaid with copper and silver. It is further embellished with turquoise and other semiprecious stones.

Sho Kannon is one of the most popular deities in the Japanese Buddhist pantheon, nearly paralleling that of Amida of the Pure Land teaching. As an agent of the Buddha Amida, he watches over all of humankind and extends his limitless compassion to all sufferers. In his extended right hand, Sho Kannon once held a lotus. This figure is made from several blocks of wood, prepared individually, hollowed out, and then assembled to form a full sculpture. The surface of the assembled form was then smoothed and finished with black lacquer.

This image was unearthed in 1861 or 1862, during construction of the East Indian Railway. Buried with it was the largest bronze Buddha statue ever found in India. Seldom do we know exactly where an artwork comes from, and this instance is a welcome exception. On the front of the sculpture’s base is a dedicatory inscription: “This is the pious gift of the monk [name unclear] for the attainment of supreme knowledge by his father and teachers and all living beings.” (Based on a translation by W. Zwalf)

Artists creating images of Hindu and Buddhist deities faced the question of how to make various deities recognizable. Eventually, certain physical features, garments, and objects held in the hand became associated with certain deities. The princely garments suggest that this image is of a bodhisattva. The water bottle held in the left hand suggests that this particular bodhisattva is Maitreya. Maitreya is believed to be a powerful spiritual being who, when the time is right, will be born on earth in human form and become the next Buddha. Though little actual jewelry has survived from this early period, the elaborate ornaments, collar, necklace, and bracelets shown here provide evidence of what such jewelry looked like. Notice on the necklace the long-bodied centaurs (half-man/half-horse creatures).