Full list: Antiquities linked to Jammu & Kashmir

Bust of Surya (The God of the Sun)

Sculpture -2
Title: Bust of Surya (The God of the Sun)
Provenance: [Peter Silverman, London, until 1993, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: second half of the 8th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Bust of Vishnu

Sculpture -3
Title: Bust of Vishnu
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–7th century(?)
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Chakrapurusha (The Personification of Vishnu’s War Discus)

Sculpture -4
Title: Chakrapurusha (The Personification of Vishnu’s War Discus)
Provenance: [John Siudmak Asian Art , London, until 1986, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Crowned and Jeweled Buddha

Sculpture -5
Title: Crowned and Jeweled Buddha
Provenance: Private collection (until 1983; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: ca. 9th century
Medium: Copper with silver inlay
Description: “The crown with flying ribbons demonstrates the powerful influence of Sasanian royal imagery on later Kashmiri art”.

Crowned Buddha

Sculpture -6
Title: Crowned Buddha
Provenance: Ben Heller, Inc. , New York (until 1970; donated to MMA)
Culture: India, Ancient kingdom of Kashmir
Date: 9th century
Medium: Brass
Description: “In Kashmir this form also recalls the splendor of the Buddha in heaven, where he reveals himself to the bodhisattvas. Both the high tripartite diadem and tasseled cape reflect Central Asian influence on Kashmiri Buddhist art of this period”.

Diadem with Kinnaris (Half-Bird, Half-Female Creatures)

Sculpture -7
Title: Diadem with Kinnaris (Half-Bird, Half-Female Creatures)
Provenance: Evelyn Kranes Kossak , New York (until 1988; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 9th–10th century
Medium: Gold inset with garnet
Description: “This three-piece repoussé diadem is a rare example of early Indian jewelry. Four kinnaris—half-bird, half-female celestial celebrants—dominate the design. It was probably made in Kashmir, judging by the likeness of the kinnaris to those depicted on the ninth-century temple of Avantisvamin at Avantipur, Kashmir”.

Sculpture -8
Title: Figural Mirror Handle
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–8th century
Medium: Phyllitic schist
Description: No details available

Four-Armed Goddess, possibly Sarada

Sculpture -9
Title: Four-Armed Goddess, possibly Sarada
Provenance: Perry and Basha Lewis , Greenwich, CT (until 1984; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: Late 9th century
Medium: Chlorite schist
Description: “This crowned goddess, wearing a distinctive Kashmiri-style kurta-mode of dress, holds an upright sword in one hand and the severed head of a goat in the other. She likely represents Sarada (autumn), the Kashmiri synonym for Saravati, the goddess of learning”.

Fragment of a Bust of Buddha

Sculpture -10
Title: Fragment of a Bust of Buddha
Provenance: Private collection , NY (until 1984; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details, credit line says “Anonymous Gift, 1984”

Sculpture -11
Title: Fragment of a Pedestal
Provenance: Private collection , NY (until 1984; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details, credit line says “Anonymous Gift, 1984”

Fragment of a Small Stele

Sculpture -12
Title: Fragment of a Small Stele
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–7th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details

Gaja Lakshmi, Goddess of Fortune

Sculpture -13
Title: Gaja Lakshmi, Goddess of Fortune
Provenance: Doris Rubin , New York (until 1989; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Gaja Lakshmi, Goddess of Fortune

Sculpture -14
Title: Gaja Lakshmi, Goddess of Fortune
Provenance: [Sotheby’s, New York , until 1993, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th century
Medium: Stone
Description: “Gaja Lakshmi first appears in this form in the first century B.C., making her one of the earliest recognizable goddess in southern Asia”.

Gaja Lakshmi, Goddess of Fortune

Sculpture -15
Title: Gaja Lakshmi, Goddess of Fortune
Provenance: William and Bette-Ann Spielman , Roslyn, NY (until 1991; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Kashmir)
Date: 8th century
Medium: Stone
Description: “Gaja Lakshmi, crowned with tripartite diadem and enthroned on a lion seat, is venerated as a bringer of good fortune and well-being to the earth, of which she was an early personification”.

Head of a Female Figure

Sculpture -16
Title: Head of a Female Figure
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1986; donated to Columbia University); [Columbia University, New York, 1986–1987, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, possibly Akhnur)
Date: 6th–7th century
Medium: Clay or terracotta
Description: “A major Buddhist monastery and stupa site was excavated at Akhnur (Akhnoor), near Jammu, revealing a series of both large- and small-scale terracotta reliefs decorating the monuments. These heads once formed part of those sculptural programs and likely depict Buddhist laity”.

Sculpture -17
Title: Head of a Female Figure
Provenance: William and Bette-Ann Spielman, Roslyn, NY (until 1980; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, possibly Akhnur)
Date: 6th–7th century
Medium: Terracotta
Description: “A major Buddhist monastery and stupa site was excavated at Akhnur (Akhnoor), near Jammu, revealing a series of both large- and small-scale terracotta reliefs decorating the monuments. These heads once formed part of those sculptural programs and likely depict Buddhist laity”.

Sculpture -18
Title: Head of a Male Figure
Provenance: Marie-Hélène and Guy A. Weill , New York (until 1975; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, possibly Akhnur)
Date: 6th–7th century
Medium: Terracotta
Description: “A major Buddhist monastery and stupa site was excavated at Akhnur (Akhnoor), near Jammu, revealing a series of both large- and small-scale terracotta reliefs decorating the monuments. These heads once formed part of those sculptural programs and likely depict Buddhist laity”.

Head of a Male Figure

Sculpture -19
Title: Head of a Male Figure
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, possibly Akhnur)
Date: 6th–7th century
Medium: Clay
Description: “A major Buddhist monastery and stupa site was excavated at Akhnur (Akhnoor), near Jammu, revealing a series of both large- and small-scale terracotta reliefs decorating the monuments. These heads once formed part of those sculptural programs and likely depict Buddhist laity”.

Sculpture -20
Title: Head of a Male Figure
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: ca. 9th century
Medium: Terracotta
Description: No details available

Head of Vishnu Wearing Three-Lobed Crown

Sculpture -21
Title: Head of Vishnu Wearing Three-Lobed Crown
Provenance: Cynthia Hazen Polsky , New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir)
Date: ca. 5th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Karttikeya, the God of War

Sculpture -22
Title: Karttikeya, the God of War
Provenance: [R. H. Ellsworth Ltd., New York, 1982, sold to the Irvings in 1989]; Florence and Herbert Irving, New York (1989 until 2015; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th century
Medium: Brass with silver inlay
Description: “Here, the god of war sits regally on his vehicle, a peacock, as if enthroned. He displays the rosary (aksamala) favored by his father, Shiva, and, instead of his usual javelin, holds a disk standard seemingly with solar symbolism. This iconography is unprecedented”.

Linga with Face of Shiva (Ekamukhalinga)

Sculpture -23
Title: Linga with Face of Shiva (Ekamukhalinga)
Provenance: [John Siudmak Asian Art , London, until 1989, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 7th century
Medium: Stone
Description: “Shiva manifest in human form emerging from the linga shaft is a celebrated representation of the god that rose to prominence in North India during the fifth century”.

Sculpture -24
Title: Linga with Face of Shiva (Ekamukhalinga)
Provenance: [R. H. Ellsworth Ltd., New York, 1982, sold to the Irvings in 1989]; Florence and Herbert Irving , New York (1989 until 2015; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th–9th century
Medium: Brass with copper and silver inlay
Description: “This rare metal linga is addorsed with the figure of Shiva, who displays a rosary (aksamala) and citron fruit (vijapuraka), representing the seed of the universe. Shiva is routinely described as the “seedgiver,” the supreme progenitor. Stylistically, this sculpture is closely related to the Karttikeya”.

Linga, Shiva’s Aniconic Symbol

Sculpture -25
Title: Linga, Shiva’s Aniconic Symbol
Provenance: John Siudmak Asian Art, London (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th century or earlier
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Male Deity

Sculpture -26
Title: Male Deity
Provenance: Michael and Georgia de Havenon , New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Sculpture -27 (no image)
Title: Male Figure Carrying an Infant
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 7th–9th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Mask of Vaikuntha Vishnu

Sculpture -28
Title: Mask of Vaikuntha Vishnu
Provenance: Mr and Mrs. Donald J. Bruckmann , Easthampton, NY (until 2004; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: late 5th century
Medium: Bronze
Description: “This remarkable bronze mask would have been secured to a wood frame, richly clothed, and garlanded to evoke the presence of Vishnu during temple festival parades, as is still seen today in the remoter regions of Himachal Pradesh in northern India”.

Mirror Handle

Sculpture -29
Title: Mirror Handle
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–8th century
Medium: Chloritic phyllite
Description: No details available

Mirror Handle

Sculpture -30
Title: Mirror Handle
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–8th century(?)
Medium: “Schist”
Description: No details available

Sculpture -31
Title: Mirror Handle
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–8th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Sculpture -32
Title: Mirror Handle
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–8th century
Medium: Phyllitic schist
Description: No details available

Mirror Handle with a Preening Woman

Sculpture -33
Title: Mirror Handle with a Preening Woman
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–8th century
Medium: Schist
Description: No details available

Mirror Handle with a Woman Playing the Lute

Sculpture -34
Title: Mirror Handle with a Woman Playing the Lute
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–7th century
Medium: Chlorite schist
Description: “This figurine belongs to a group of objects depicting ladies at leisure; here, the woman plays a stringed instrument. They likely served as mirror handles: each has a hole drilled from the top to receive the mirror fixture. Similar objects have been recorded at Khotan, in Central Asia, and are presumably the legacy of a luxury trade in such goods”.

Mithuna (Loving Couple)

Sculpture -35
Title: Mithuna (Loving Couple) (Study Collection)
Provenance: Martin Lerner , Croton-on-Hudson, NY (until 1982; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th century or earlier
Medium: Terracotta
Description: No details available

Panel from a Portable Shrine: The Descent of the Buddha from Trayastrimsha Heaven

Sculpture -36
Title: Panel from a Portable Shrine: The Descent of the Buddha from Trayastrimsha Heaven
Provenance: [Spink & Son Ltd. , London, until 1979, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir),
Date: 7th–8th century
Medium: Ivory with traces of color
Description: “This diminutive panel depicts the Buddha’s descent from Trayastrimsha heaven, where he visited to preach the Buddhist gospel (dharma) to his mother, who had died soon after his birth. The three steps below his feet indicate the ladder upon which he descended”.

Panel of a Buddhist Ritual Crown with Ratnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South

Sculpture -37
Title: Panel of a Buddhist Ritual Crown with Ratnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South
Provenance: [Spink & Son Ltd. , London, until 1992, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir) or western Tibet
Date: 10th–11th century
Medium: Wood with traces of polychrome
Description: “Ratnasambhava is one of the five Transcendent Buddhas of Esoteric Buddhism. Horses are his traditional mounts”.

Panel of a Portable Buddhist Shrine with Dancer and Musician Celebrants

Sculpture -38
Title: Panel of a Portable Buddhist Shrine with Dancer and Musician Celebrants
Provenance: [Spink & Son Ltd. , London, until 1988, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th century
Medium: Ivory with traces of color
Description: No details available

Sculpture -39
Title: Pedestal of a Seated Buddha (Study Collection )
Provenance: Martin Lerner , Croton-on-Hudson, NY (until 1982; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th–9th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Pedestal with Yaksha and Two Lions

Sculpture -40
Title: Pedestal with Yaksha and Two Lions
Provenance: Dr. and Mrs. Roger Stoll, Boca Raton, FL (until 1986; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 9th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Reliquary in the Shape of a Stupa

Sculpture-41
Title: Reliquary in the Shape of a Stupa
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: Northwest India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 7th–9th century
Medium: Copper alloy
Description: No details available

Ritual Vessel of Lotus Form

Sculpture-42
Title: Ritual Vessel of Lotus Form
Provenance: Acquired by Simon Digby Britishbefore 1985; Digby collection sold by 2010 to John Siudmak Asian Art; [ John Siudmak Asian Art , London, until 2011, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: ca. 10th century
Medium: Copper
Description: “The vessel is globular in form, set on a pedestal stand. All of its surfaces have raised decoration: the body is filled with a beautifully realized pattern of overlapping petals with chased details, and the shoulder and foot have a lotus petal and dart band”.

Seated Buddha

Sculpture-43
Title: Seated Buddha
Provenance: Mr. and Mrs. Michael Phillips, Beverly Hills, CA (until 1984; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Kashmir region)
Date: 7th–8th century
Medium: Brass inlaid with copper and silver
Description: No details available

Seated Ganesha

Sculpture-44
Title: Seated Ganesha
Provenance: Mr. and Mrs. Uzi Zucker, New York (until 1977; donated to MMA)
Culture: India, Kashmir
Date: mid-9th century
Medium: Stone
Description: “The god’s stepped pedestal, lotus throne, and tripartite crown are all attributes of images created in Kashmir. This region was an early center for the worship of Shiva, so it is not surprising that his corpulent son would also be venerated there”.

Seated Headless Buddha

Sculpture-45
Title: Seated Headless Buddha (Study Collection)
Provenance: Martin Lerner , Croton-on-Hudson, NY (until 1982; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th century or earlier
Medium: Terracotta
Description: No details available

Seated Narasimha

Sculpture-46
Title: Seated Narasimha
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 7th–9th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Seated or Kneeling Female Figure

Sculpture-47
Title: Seated or Kneeling Female Figure
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: ca. 6th–8th century
Medium: Phyllitic schist
Description: No details available

Seated Shakyamuni

Sculpture-48
Title: Seated Shakyamuni
Provenance: [R. H. Ellsworth Ltd. , New York, 1982, sold to the Irvings in 1989]; Florence and Herbert Irving , New York (1989 until 2015; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 9th century
Medium: Bronze
Description: No details available

Seated Vishnu

Sculpture-49
Title: Seated Vishnu
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir, Akhnur)
Date: 7th–9th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Section of a Diptych in Linga Form, Interior Depicting Parvati, the Consort of Shiva

Sculpture-50
Title: Section of a Diptych in Linga Form, Interior Depicting Parvati, the Consort of Shiva
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–7th century
Medium: Chlorite schist
Description: No details available

Section of a Diptych in Linga Form, Interior Depicting Shiva and Parvati

Sculpture-51
Title: Section of a Diptych in Linga Form, Interior Depicting Shiva and Parvati
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 7th century
Medium: Chlorite schist
Description: No details available

Section of a Diptych in Linga Form, Interior Depicting Shiva, Parvati, and the Calf Bull

Sculpture-52
Title: Section of a Diptych in Linga Form, Interior Depicting Shiva, Parvati, and the Calf Bull
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 7th century
Medium: Chlorite schist
Description: No details available

Section of a Diptych in Linga Form, Interior Depicting the Face of Shiva

Sculpture-53
Title: Section of a Diptych in Linga Form, Interior Depicting the Face of Shiva
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–7th century
Medium: Chlorite schist
Description: No details available

Shiva and Parvati with their Sons Karttikeya and Ganesha and the Calf Bull

Sculpture-54
Title: Shiva and Parvati with their Sons Karttikeya and Ganesha and the Calf Bull
Provenance: Private collection, New York (until 1989; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 9th century
Medium: Stone
Description: “A devotee used this charming rendering of the Shiva family assembled on a single pedestal for worship, likely in a private chapel. Shiva holds a rosary (aksamala) and flask; his wife, Parvati, a mirror. Both are crowned and jeweled as if Kashmiri monarchs”.

Standing Four-Armed Vishnu

Sculpture-55
Title: Standing Four-Armed Vishnu
Provenance: Michael and Georgia de Havenon, New York (until 1986; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Standing Surya (The God of the Sun)

Sculpture-56
Title: Standing Surya (The God of the Sun)
Provenance: Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Caplan , Hartsdale, NY (until 1991; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: ca. 6th century
Medium: Phyllitic schist
Description: No details available

Standing Vishnu Flanked by Attendants

Sculpture-57
Title: Standing Vishnu Flanked by Attendants
Provenance: William and Bette-Ann Spielman , Roslyn, NY (until 1973; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 9th century
Medium: Limestone
Description: No details available

Statuette of Surya

Sculpture-58
Title: Statuette of Surya
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–7th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Stupa

Sculpture-59
Title: Stupa
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 7th–9th century
Medium: Bronze
Description: No details available

Surya (The God of the Sun) with Attendants

Sculpture-60
Title: Surya (The God of the Sun) with Attendants
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 7th century(?)
Medium: Bronze
Description: No details available

The Bodhisattva Vajrasattva

Sculpture-61
Title: The Bodhisattva Vajrasattva
Provenance: [R. H. Ellsworth Ltd. , New York, 1982, sold to the Irvings in 1989]; Florence and Herbert Irving , New York (1989 until 2015; donated to MMA)
Culture: India, Kashmir
Date: 8th century
Medium: Brass with silver inlay
Description: “The Esoteric Buddhist deity Vajrasattva holds a stylized thunderbolt and a bell and sits in royal ease on a stylized mountain, with his pendant foot supported by a lotus bloom. Two snake deities, a naga and nagini, emerge from the mountain’s waters and raise their hands in veneration of Vajrasattva’s transcendent wisdom”.

The Brahmanical Triad: Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu

Sculpture-62
Title: The Brahmanical Triad: Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu
Provenance: [Spink & Son Ltd. , London, until 1985, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th–9th century
Medium: Stone
Description: “In a uniquely Kashmiri visualization, all three deities are represented in three-faced form: Brahma with three heads manifest and a fourth assumed; Shiva with his wrathful and feminine aspects projecting left and right; and Vishnu with his lion and boar avatars. Brahma is attended by a goose (hamsa), Shiva by his calf bull Vrsabha, and Vishnu by his purusas, the personifications of his weapons”

Tile showing a woman carrying a pot

Sculpture-63
Title: Tile showing a woman carrying a pot
Provenance: [Spink & Son Ltd. , London, until 1994, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (ancient kingdom of Kashmir, Harwan)
Date: 5th–6th century
Medium: Terracotta
Description: “This tile decorated the courtyard of an apsidal temple at Harwan, in Kashmir. Perhaps occurred in relation to the emergence of Esoteric, or Vajrayana, Buddhism. Numerals in Kharoshthi script have been incised into the tile, presumably to aid its placement”.

Sculpture-64
Title: Tile with Impressed Figure Carrying a Festoon of Flowers
Provenance: [Art of the Past, Inc. , New York, by 1992, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir, Harwan)
Date: 3rd–4th century
Medium: Terracotta
Description: No details available

Tile with Impressed Figure of Emaciated Ascetics and Couples Behind Balconies

Sculpture-65
Title: Tile with Impressed Figure of Emaciated Ascetics and Couples Behind Balconies
Provenance: [Shirley Day Ltd., London, until 1998, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (ancient kingdom of Kashmir, Harwan)
Date: 5th–6th century
Medium: Terracotta
Description: “This tile decorated the courtyard of an apsidal temple at Harwan, in Kashmir. As this site has a Buddhist affiliation, the presence of emaciated nude ascetics is not easy to explain; they are more readily understood within the Hindu Shaivite tradition. As this mixture of Buddhist and Hindu imagery is also found at other contemporary sites in Afghanistan and western India, the tile appears to be part of a larger exchange that perhaps occurred in relation to the emergence of Esoteric, or Vajrayana, Buddhism. Numerals in Kharoshthi script have been incised into the tile, presumably to aid its placement”

Tile with Impressed Figures of Emaciated Ascetics and Couples Behind Balconies

Sculpture-66
Title: Tile with Impressed Figures of Emaciated Ascetics and Couples Behind Balconies
Provenance: Cynthia Hazen Polsky , New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (ancient kingdom of Kashmir, Harwan)
Date: 5th–6th century
Medium: Terracotta
Description: “This tile decorated the courtyard of an apsidal temple at Harwan, in Kashmir. As this site has a Buddhist affiliation, the presence of emaciated nude ascetics is not easy to explain; they are more readily understood within the Hindu Shaivite tradition. As this mixture of Buddhist and Hindu imagery is also found at other contemporary sites in Afghanistan and western India, the tile appears to be part of a larger exchange that perhaps occurred in relation to the emergence of Esoteric, or Vajrayana, Buddhism. Numerals in Kharoshthi script have been incised into the tile, presumably to aid its placement”.

Tile with Impressed Figures of Emaciated Ascetics and Couples behind Balconies and Ganders

Sculpture-67
Title: Tile with Impressed Figures of Emaciated Ascetics and Couples behind Balconies and Ganders
Provenance: Evelyn Kranes Kossak, New York (1985–1995; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (ancient kingdom of Kashmir, Harwan)
Date: 5th–6th century
Medium: Terracotta
Description: “This tile decorated the courtyard of an apsidal temple at Harwan, in Kashmir. As this site has a Buddhist affiliation, the presence of emaciated nude ascetics is not easy to explain; they are more readily understood within the Hindu Shaivite tradition. As this mixture of Buddhist and Hindu imagery is also found at other contemporary sites in Afghanistan and western India, the tile appears to be part of a larger exchange that perhaps occurred in relation to the emergence of Esoteric, or Vajrayana, Buddhism. Numerals in Kharoshthi script have been incised into the tile, presumably to aid its placement”.

Torso and Head of Vishnu

Sculpture-68
Title: Torso and Head of Vishnu
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–7th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Torso of Vishnu

Sculpture-69
Title: Torso of Vishnu
Provenance: Cynthia Hazen Polsky , New York (until 1984; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: ca. 6th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Sculpture-70
Title: Two Seated Figures Beside a Recumbant Deer
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th century
Medium: Phyllitic schist
Description: No details available

Upper Portion and Head of Vishnu

Sculpture-71
Title: Upper Portion and Head of Vishnu
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–7th century
Medium: Phyllitic schist
Description: No details available

Vaikuntha Vishnu

Sculpture-72
Title: Vaikuntha Vishnu
Provenance: [Rossi & Rossi Ltd. , London, until 1991, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: last quarter of the 8th century
Medium: Stone
Description: “From the eighth through the tenth century, this four-faced Vishnu was the paramount cult icon in the kingdom of Kashmir”

Vajrapani

Sculpture-73
Title: Vajrapani
Provenance: [Spink & Son Ltd., London , by 1981, sold to the Weills]; Marie-Hélène and Guy A. Weill , New York (1981 until Marie-Helene Weill d., 2015; sold at Christie’s auction to MMA); [ Christie’s, New York , auction, March 15, 2016, lot 279, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Kashmir)
Date: late 6th–7th century
Medium: Gray chorite
Description: “In this, among the earliest representations known from the greater Kashmir world, the double-ended thunderbolt symbol is imposingly large, the shaft of which extends the length of Vajrapani’s figure. In addition to the massive device with its distinctive prongs, the bodhisattva holds a rosary (aksamala). His face is somewhat abraded but traces of a moustache remain, and he wears a distinctive headdress of an elaborate cockade with hanging strings of pearls disgorging from the center, in the Gupta-manner”

Vishnu

Sculpture-74
Title: Vishnu
Provenance: Mr. and Mrs. John Kossak , New York (until 1982; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: ca. second half of the 7th century
Medium: Stone
Description: “The rendering of musculature and handling of complex drapery make this a superb example of the sculptural sophistication of seventh-century Kashmiri art. The jewelry and crown styles are a response to Gupta-period conventions of sixth-century northern India”

Vishnu and Lakshmi Supported by Garuda

Sculpture-75
Title: Vishnu and Lakshmi Supported by Garuda
Provenance: Evelyn Kranes Kossak , New York (until 1995; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 11th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Vishnu Rescuing Gajendra, the Lord of the Elephants

Sculpture-76
Title: Vishnu Rescuing Gajendra, the Lord of the Elephants
Provenance: [Spink & Son Ltd. , London, until 1986, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 8th–9th century
Medium: Stone
Description: No details available

Vishnu with his Personified Attributes

Sculpture-77
Title: Vishnu with his Personified Attributes
Provenance: Stanley and Anita Eisenberg, Hewlett Harbor, NY (until 1983; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 9th century
Medium: Stone
Description: “Vishnu, crowned and courtly in his dress, holds a lotus flower and rests his two lower hands on his personified weapons: Chakrapurusha, his war discus, and Gadadevi, the female personification of his battle mace”

Vishvarupa Vishnu

Sculpture-78
Title: Vishvarupa Vishnu
Provenance: Cynthia Hazen Polsky , New York (until 1986; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th century
Medium: Stone
Description: “In this manifestation, Vishnu appears as the supreme Lord with ten arms and three faces. He is attended by his lion and boar avatars, Narasimha and Varaha, along with multiple other forms”

Kamadeva, the God of Love

Sculpture-79
Title: Kamadeva, the God of Love
Provenance: [Art of the Past, Inc., New York, by 1993, sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: second half of the 8th century
Medium: Stone
Description: “Though rarely represented in Kashmiri art, Kama, the god of love, is here identified by a wondrous mythical creature (makara), who spews arrows from its jaws. The bow and arrow and a pair of lovebirds are Kamadeva’s principal identifiers. This subject is a rare survivor from early medieval Kashmir”

Sculpture-80
Title: Goblet
Provenance: [John Siudmak Asian Art , London, until 2019; sold to MMA]
Culture: India
Date: ca. 11th–12th century
Medium: Cast bronze
Description: “This diminutive and yet elegant stemmed drinking cup is a rare survivor of elite secular art from medieval Kashmir. It is cast in copper alloy rather than worked from sheet metal, placing it in an elite category of luxury goods for courtly use. The exterior fluting is suggestive of Saka-Parthian-era drinking vessels excavated at the Indo-Greek city of Sirkup, first century CE, and it is likely a descendant of that vessel-type.”

Mirror Handle

Sculpture-81
Title: Mirror Handle
Provenance: Samuel Eilenberg American (born Poland), New York (until 1987; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu & Kashmir, ancient kingdom of Kashmir)
Date: 6th–8th century
Medium: Chloritic phyllite
Description: No details available

Paintings linked to Kashmir:

Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio

Kashmir Manuscript-1
Title: Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio
Provenance: [Private collection , Hong Kong, ca. 1990s; sold to Roncoroni]; Chino Franco Roncoroni , Bali, ca. 1990s–2020; donated to MMA
Culture: Ancient Kingdom of Kashmir, India
Date: 11th century
Medium: Fragment; colors and black ink on paper
Description: “This painting depicts the personification of the wisdom text Prajnaparamita. The swelling breasts and constricted waist are hallmarks of the Kashmir style”.

Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio

Kashmir Manuscript-2
Title: Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio
Provenance: [Private collection, Hong Kong, ca. 1990s; sold to Roncoroni]; Chino Franco Roncoroni, Bali, ca. 1990s–2020; donated to MMA
Culture: Ancient Kingdom of Kashmir, India
Date: 11th century
Medium: Fragment; colors and black ink on paper
Description: “This exquisitely executed miniature painting of a seated royal donor exemplifies the unprecedented quality achieved by Kashmiri artists working on plant fiber papers. This medium, as opposed to the traditional palm-leaf folio, allowed a larger scale format and, properly sized, a new refinement of execution”

Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio

Kashmir Manuscript-3
Title: Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio
Provenance: [Vicki Shiba Asian and Tribal Art Gallery, Mill Valley, CA, until 2006; sold to Roncoroni]; Chino Franco Roncoroni , Bali, 2006–20; donated to MMA
Culture: Ancient Kingdom of Kashmir, India
Date: ca. 11th century
Medium: Fragment; colors and black ink on paper
Description: “This rare and seemingly unprecedented painting in all likelihood represents the earliest surviving illustrated manuscript tradition in the Kashmiri style”

Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio

Kashmir Manuscript-4
Title: Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio
Provenance: [Rossi & Rossi Ltd. , London, until 1993; sold to McCormick]; Michael J. and Beata McCormick , New York, 1993–2020; donated to MMA
Culture: Ancient Kingdom of Kashmir, India
Date: 11th–12th century
Medium: Fragment; colors and black ink on paper
Description: “This is a rare and early representation of the goddess personification of the Prajnaparamita Sutra text”

Kashmir Manuscript-5
Title: Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio
Provenance: [Private collection , Hong Kong, ca. 1990s; sold to Roncoroni]; Chino Franco Roncoroni , Bali, ca. 1990s–2020; donated to MMA
Culture: Ancient Kingdom of Kashmir, India
Date: 12th century
Medium: Fragment; colors and black ink on paper
Description: “This exquisite example of 12th century western Himalayan manuscript painting embodies the highest qualities of this tradition. Colors are radiant and, thanks to the subtle use of tonal gradation, have a luminosity that enhances the figure’s other-worldliness.”

Kashmir Paintings

Scene from the Life of Krishna

Kashmir Paintings-1
Title: Scene from the Life of Krishna
Provenance: Richard Ettinghausen, Princeton, NJ (until 1977; gifted to MMA)
Culture: Attributed to India, Kashmir
Date: 19th century
Medium: Ink, pencil, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Description: No details available

Rumal with Scenes from the Ramayana

Kashmir Painting-2
Title: Rumal with Scenes from the Ramayana
Provenance: [Imre Schwaiger , London, until 1928; sold to MMA]
Culture: India (Jammu and Kashmir)
Date: 18th century
Medium: Cotton with silk, tinsel, and metal embroidery
Description: “In the foothill kingdoms of Himachal Pradesh, in northern India, rumals (Hindi for handkerchief) were decorated as presentation cloths”.

Shiva and Parvati Playing Chaupar: Folio from a Rasamanjari Series
Provenance

Kashmir Painting-3
Title: Shiva and Parvati Playing Chaupar: Folio from a Rasamanjari Series
Provenance:
Culture: India (Basohli, Jammu)
Date: dated 1694–9; Artist: Devidasa of Nurpur (active ca. 1680–ca. 1720)
Medium: Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper
Description: “This painting belongs to a series illustrating the Rasamanjari (Essence of the Experience of Delight), a fifteenth-century Sanskrit love poem by Bhanudatta devoted to the expression and classification of the moods and emotions of the nayaka ( hero-lover) and nayika ( heroine-loved)”

Kalki Avatar, the Future Incarnation of Vishnu

Kashmir Painting-4
Title: Kalki Avatar, the Future Incarnation of Vishnu
Provenance: Cynthia Hazen Polsky , New York (until 1991; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Basohli, Jammu)
Date: ca. 1700–1710
Medium: Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Description: “Kalki is described as either a white horse or a warrior on a white horse. In paintings from the Punjab Hills he is usually shown, as here, in the guise of a groom leading a white horse to a seated warrior with blue skin, the color traditionally associated with Vishnu”

Maharaja Ranbir Singh

Kashmir Painting-5
Title: Maharaja Ranbir Singh
Provenance: Possibly Shri Parshotam Ram Kapoor , Jalandhar and New Delhi, India; Subhash
Kapoor , New York (until 2008; donated to MMA)
Culture: India (Jammu)/ Date: ca. 1860–80;
Medium: Ink and transparent watercolor on paper
Description: “This is likely a portrait of Ranbir Singh, an attribution supported by the inscription at the upper left identifying the subject as ‘Maharaja of Jammu”

Kashmir Calligraphy

Title: Page of Calligraphy
Provenance: American Museum of Natural History, New York; [ Sam Fogg, London, until 2002; sold to MMA]
Geography: Made in India, Kashmir
Calligrapher: Muhammad Ashraf Al-Radhawi (Indian)
Date: dated A.H. Rabi’ al-Awwal 1069/ December 1658 CE
Medium: Ink and watercolor on paper
Description: “This page comes from a book copied by Muhammad Ashraf al-Radhawi, who wrote it in 1658 while serving as the Mughal governor of Kashmir. The text is in Arabic and Persian, and consists of prayers and supplications (called munajat) dedicated to ‘Ali (d. 661), the fourth caliph and first Shi’i Imam.”

Carpet with a millefleur pattern

Kashmir carpet-1:
Title: Carpet with a millefleur pattern
Provenance: Robert Lehman, New York
Culture: Indian, Kashmir; Date: 18th century
Medium: Wool (probably pashmina) pile on cotton and silk foundation.
Classification: Textiles-Rugs
Description: Not given

Carpet with a millefleur pattern

Kashmir carpet-2:
Title: Carpet with a millefleur pattern
Provenance: Robert Lehman, New York
Culture: Indian, Kashmir; Date: 18th century
Medium: Wool (probably pashmina) pile on cotton foundation..
Classification: Textiles-Rugs
Description: Not given

🔎 In part 2 of his investigation, Shyamlal looks at how over 90 antiquities from Jammu and Kashmir landed up at the Met. About two dozen have been linked to an American mathematician, an associate of a US-based antiques dealer on the radar of investigative agencies. Meanwhile, three are linked to Subhash Kapoor.

🔎 The road to recovering stolen antiquities has been a long and arduous one. But nothing better illustrated the challenges faced by India better than the wall it hit to get a J&K painting back from the US for over six years. Here is what happened.

Curious about these antiquities from J&K? Here is a full list of the items.