Cultural Sculptures and Figures

Depictions of various cultural figurines representing deities, nobles, and ritualistic figures from Africa, Asia, and the Americas, each embodying artistic styles.

Mayan ceramic figure of a woman probably a noble. Jaina, Chiapas, Mexico 600-900 AD

Detail of a Buddha in Nirvana or a scene from a cremation. First Century AD. China

10th Century sculpture of the Hindu God Brahma. Sandstone from Cambodia, Wat Baset (temple)

Standing Lady Attendant China. Standing Lady Attendant 49516

A Buddhist Sculpture during the Three Kingdoms period of Korea. Three Kingdoms Period of Korea (57 BCE - 668 AD)

Votive Tablet of Gautama Buddha with Attendant Buddhas 1001-1400 Northern. Terra-cotta .

The jackal-headed god Anubis, guardian of tombs.

Bodhisattva, possibly Maitreya early 6th century China. Bodhisattva, possibly Maitreya 42706

Sculpture of the Head of Vajrapani from 8th century Unified Silla, Korea Made of granite. From the time of Unified Silla (668 - 935)

Mayan deity statue from Mexico isolated on white background

Stone Huaxtec female deity

An ancient terracotta statuette of a prisoner, and soon to be sacrificial victim, from the Moche culture, alternatively known as, the Mochica culture, Early Chimu, Pre-Chimu or Proto-Chimu, from the North Coast of Peru. The prisoner sits in the nude, with his hand covering his mouth epitomising his fear. Dated 8th Century

Ptah-Sokar-Osiris Figure of Ankhshepenwepet ca. 712-664 B.C. Third Intermediate Period This wooden statuette belongs to a tradition of upright mummiform statuettes on rectangular bases that dates back to the Middle Kingdom. It is meant to represent a divine being, or sah. Here the figure is shown wearing a crown of ram's horns topped by two ostrich plumes (the shuty crown), a blue tripartite wig, and a broad collar. A bead net is shown over the red wrappings. There is a back pillar, a feature that first appears on Osiride figures during this period. The statuette is pegged to a long base. The inscription on the front is a spell spoken by Osiris; on the back are words spoken by Ankhshepenwepet).Such statuettes are understood by Egyptologists as aids for the re-birth of the deceased. The deity shown is Osiris (as indicated in this example by the inscription) or Osiris syncretized with the Memphite funerary gods Ptah and Sokar. These are thus known generally as a Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figures

Vishnu or Prahalada, Son of Hiranyakashipu ca. 1700-1750 Southern India, Tamil Nadu, probably Thanjavur district This mask depicting a handsome crowned male is likely intended to represent Vishnu himself, though he does not normally feature directly in the temple dramas, as Narasimha serves as his ferocious manifestation. Nonetheless, Vishnus presence is understood; he presides over the performance while not directly participating in it. Alternatively, this mask may be intended to represent Prahalada, the devotee for whom Vishnu interceded as the man-lion savior.. Vishnu or Prahalada, Son of Hiranyakashipu 665500

Walter Hochstrasser, Cigar Store Indian, c 1940 Cigar Store Indian

Photograph of the Aztec Idol, Cihuacóatl, goddess of birth, patron saint of physicians, bleeders, midwives, surgeons. Photographed by William Henry Jackson (1843-1942). Dated 1890

Bodhisattva, possibly Maitreya first quarter of the 8th century Northeastern Thailand This image of a standing male is difficult to identify securely, but the raised hand gesturing in exposition and the lowered hand granting boons suggests he is a Buddhist savior. He may represent Maitreya, the messianic Buddha of the Future; the headdress is perhaps intended to evoke a stupa, his identifier.cat. no. 143. Bodhisattva, possibly Maitreya. Northeastern Thailand. first quarter of the 8th century. Copper alloy with tin. Sculpture

Seated bodhisattva in pensive pose China. Seated bodhisattva in pensive pose. China. Bronze. Sui dynasty (581-618) (). Sculpture

Head of Buddha. After 1400. Sandstone. From Thailand. Liebieghaus Museum. Frankfurt. Germany.

Head of a Buddhist Deity, Perhaps Amitabha ca. 12th-13th century Indonesia (Kalimantan). Head of a Buddhist Deity, Perhaps Amitabha 38289

Former Cistercian nunnery Himmelthal in Spessart. Founded in 1232, the present church dates from 1753 and is now the Elsava School. Epitaph from the 14th century, St., Sankt, Saint

Standing stone statue of a Buddha. Chinese Qi Dynasty circa 550 AD

Mayan god statue from Mexico isolated on white background

Stone figurines of Chalchiuhtlicue, Aztec Goddess of water, rivers, seas, streams, storms, and baptism. Mexico. Dated 1325 BC.

Vietnam, Da Nang. Cham Museum, collection of Cham cultural art. Bo tat Tara (aka Bodhisattva Tara) bronze statue dating back to the late 9th-10th century.

Mixtec mask of Tlaloc the Rain God; 13th-14th century Mexico, Mesoamerica. Made from Serpentine. This depiction of the rain god Tlaloc, has characteristic ringed eyes, prominent teeth, and an upper lip-moustache.

Seated Buddha 6th-7th century China (Xinjiang Autonomous Region). Seated Buddha. China (Xinjiang Autonomous Region). 6th-7th century. Stucco. Khotan Kingdom. Sculpture

Christ the Good Shepherd. India, Goa, 17th century. Sculpture. Patinated ivory

Decorative African mask

God Bes. Egyptian statuette.

Shabti of the Adoratrice of Hathor Henettawy, wife of Painedjem I Third Intermediate Period ca. 1064-1055 B.C. This small figurine is a shabti from the burial of a royal woman named Henettawy who lived during the early 21st Dynasty (about 1100-900 B.C.) at Thebes. During this era, control of Egypt was divided between the kings in the north, who ruled from Tanis in the Nile Delta, and the High Priests of the great state god Amun, ruling from Thebes in the south. Henettawy was a wife of the High Priest and King Painedjem I, who ruled from Thebes. She was also the daughter of a king, likely either Ramesses XI or Smendes (Nesbanebdjed) I.In the ancient Egyptian belief system, shabtis were avatars of the deceased who could be called upon to perform manual labor on his or her behalf in the afterlife. By Henettawys time, as many as 401 shabtis (a worker for each day of the year plus an overseer for each 10-day week) were included with the burials of wealthy people. Worker shabtis like this o

Karuppannasamy. Alongside Shiva and Vishnu who are venerated throughout India, the country is also home to scores of local deities linked to a region or a clan. Karuppannasamy is worshipped in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, in particular in the countryside. He is a dangerous god who has to be pacified with sacrifices of blood and meat, in exchange for which he protects the fields. The scythe in his right hand is a reference to this.

Shiva as Khandoba 18th Century.

Haida tribe Native American figure of a medicine man. Artist: Unknown

Processional image of the goddess Gauri South India, Karnataka ca. 18th century The goddess Gauri is celebrated as a manifestation of the benign aspect of Durga, herself an emanation of Parvati, and is understood by her devotees as the highest expression of female auspiciousness, with the power to fulfill all desires and grant relief from worldly sufferings. Most universal of her forms is that honored on the eighth night of Navaratri (nine-nights), when the most important goddess are celebrated in the autumnal month of Asvina (September-October) in a ten-day festival. But she is widely worshipped in many guises, under local names in villages and small towns as well as in temple establishments and in the homes of devotees. These celebrations assume many regional expressions, as does the representation of the goddess who often assumes a localized form, typically drawing upon myths and legends specific to a given community. These often find expression in indigenous performative traditions

Pendant: Three Figures 19th century Edo peoples At its origins, the centralized city-state of Benin was founded by Edo-speaking peoples. The accounts by official court historians and descriptions provided by visitors evoke a vibrant cultural center continually redefined by its leadership through shifting internal and external power dynamics. According to oral tradition, circa 1300, Edo chiefs are reputed to have reached out to the leader of neighboring Ife, Oranmiyan, to establish a new divinely sanctioned royal dynasty. Since then, the investiture of Benins rulers to the title of obas has conferred upon them at once a role of chief priest officiating in important religious ceremonies and presiding over an elaborate structure of palace officials. During the fifteenth century reign of Oba Ewuare, Benins armies were formed and the fortification of its capital with a massive wall undertaken. In parallel, delegations of Portuguese traders assiduously sought to secure exclusive commercial

Shabti of Yuya ca. 1390-1352 B.C. New Kingdom In 1905, Theodore M. Davis of Providence, R.I. was sponsoring excavations in the Valley of the Kings. On February 5, his excavator, James E. Quibell, discovered an intact tomb, KV 46, that contained the burials of Yuya and Tjuyu. Although not of royal ancestry themselves, Yuya and Tjuyu were the father and mother of Queen Tiye, the principal wife of Amenhotep III, mother of Akhenaten, and grandmother of Tutankhamun. As in-laws of the king, Yuya and Tjuyu were given a well appointed burial in the royal cemetery.The majority of the objects from the tomb are now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, but Davis was allowed to keep a small portion of the finds including three shabtis, two shabti boxes, and a set of shabti tools. Carved of cedar, with the face, part of the headdress, and necklace covered with gold foil, this shabti is the most sumptuous of the three. It has been inscribed with chapter six of the Book of the Dead. This spell ensures that

Bust of Buddha Shakyamuni

Mask late 19th century Tibet. Mask 37645

Head of the Buddha. 800-30, Shailendra dynasty, Central Java, Stone. The head originally formed part of a large-scale image of Buddha Shakyamuni. The Shailendra rulers were strong supporters of Mahayana Buddhism and erected many Buddhist monuments in cen

Stone Huaxtec female deity

Osiris god , Gregorian Egyptian Museumn Musei Vaticani, State of the Vatican City, Roma, Lazio, Italia.

Kiiappaat mask from the Ammassalik district in the eastern coast of Greenland.

Wat Visounnarath buddhist temple. Buddha Shakyamuni. Giant golden statue. Luang Prabang. Laos.

Head of Buddha China. Head of Buddha. China. Stone, originally painted and gilded. Tang dynasty (618-907). Sculpture

Flataunga panels. Carved panels, (probably) depicting Christ with his Apostles. It is possible that the panels came from the first Icelandic cathedral, built at Holar after the foundation of the bishopric, in 1106 AD.

The ushabtis. The figurines were meant to accompany the dead to the underworld.

250 year old japanese image of a pilgrim. Part of album with 69 photos of a journey through Japan.

Interior of Geghard Monastery in Armenia.

Bodhisattva, Probably Amoghapasa Lokeshvara 14th-15th century Nepal (Kathmandu Valley) In Nepal a popular manifestation of Avalokiteshvara is the eight-armed Amoghapasa, the lord whose noose (pasa) never fails to bind and secure devoteesthat is, a redeemer whose powers of salvation are infallible. Here only two of the original eight arms survive intact. The surface shows traces of having been polychromed, and the figure would have been clad in rich garments during worship, including temple festivals.. Bodhisattva, Probably Amoghapasa Lokeshvara 38322

Congolese mask in Bukavu, DRC

A Fube Dyat Post and Hampatongs, England, London, Christie's Images

Altar to stele D with two-headed snake, Mayan site, Copan, Honduras, Central America

Head of Buddha 1st-2nd century India. Head of Buddha 38728

Hip Ornament: Face 16th-17th century Edo peoples Benin history, religion, and political structure are brought to life every year in a series of palace rituals intended to purify the kingdom and renew the spiritual powers of the king, the oba. Many of these vivid and solemn rites were introduced by individual obas in order to commemorate events in their reigns and to promote important principles in the ideology of divine kingship. At these palace festivals, the powers of the king, the roles of the various chiefs and titleholders, and the relationships between them are displayed for all to see. The arts play an important role in these rituals. The king and other participants wear their most lavish ceremonial costumes, consisting of vast quantities of costly imported coral beads, luxurious textiles, and ornaments made of gleaming brass and creamy ivory. This ornament in the shape of a man's face was part of such a costume, and was meant to be worn around the waist.. Hip Ornament: Face. Ed

Carved figure at Copan Ruins, Maya Site of Copan, UNESCO World Heritage site, Honduras

Ancient Egyptian funeral statue of Tutenkhamen, 18th Dynasty

Shamanic Mask 1890. These mask were used to make Shamans more powerful and ordinary people could invoke animal spirits.

Triads depicting Horus, his mother Isis and her sister Nephthys

Statuettes of Neith, Bastet and Isis. The goddess of hunting and war, mother goddess and goddess of fertility and mother and protector of Horus the child respectively. 7th-2nd century.

Hip Ornament: Face 16th-19th century Edo peoples At its origins, the centralized city-state of Benin was founded by Edo-speaking peoples. The accounts by official court historians and descriptions provided by visitors evoke a vibrant cultural center continually redefined by its leadership through shifting internal and external power dynamics. According to oral tradition, circa 1300, Edo chiefs are reputed to have reached out to the leader of neighboring Ife, Oranmiyan, to establish a new divinely sanctioned royal dynasty. Since then, the investiture of Benins rulers to the title of obas has conferred upon them at once a role of chief priest officiating in important religious ceremonies and presiding over an elaborate structure of palace officials. During the fifteenth century reign of Oba Ewuare, Benins armies were formed and the fortification of its capital with a massive wall undertaken. In parallel, delegations of Portuguese traders assiduously sought to secure exclusive commercia

Medicine Vessel: Figure 18th-19th century Edo peoples At its origins, the centralized city-state of Benin was founded by Edo-speaking peoples. The accounts by official court historians and descriptions provided by visitors evoke a vibrant cultural center continually redefined by its leadership through shifting internal and external power dynamics. According to oral tradition, circa 1300, Edo chiefs are reputed to have reached out to the leader of neighboring Ife, Oranmiyan, to establish a new divinely sanctioned royal dynasty. Since then, the investiture of Benins rulers to the title of obas has conferred upon them at once a role of chief priest officiating in important religious ceremonies and presiding over an elaborate structure of palace officials. During the fifteenth century reign of Oba Ewuare, Benins armies were formed and the fortification of its capital with a massive wall undertaken. In parallel, delegations of Portuguese traders assiduously sought to secure exclusive comm

Statue-reliquary of Sainte Foy. 985. FRANCE. Conques. Äglise abbatiale de Sainte Foy (Abbey Church of St. Foy). Gold and precious stones. Romanesque art. Sculpture.

PIEZA CON LA CABEZA DEL DIOS BES GRABADA (AJUAR PUNICO). DEPOSITO: MUSEO PUIG DES MOLINS.

Gold amulet showing the head of the Egyptian god Osiris 715-332 BC

Standing Buddha Flanked by Disciples ca. first half of the 13th century Burma. Standing Buddha Flanked by Disciples 38319

Winged Rakshasa Demon, Anonymous

Engraved Gem with Bes-Pantheos and Anubis. Unknown

Plaque with the Symbol of the Evangelist John ca. 1100 French This plaque, part of an ensemble including four plaques with the symbols of the evangelists and a central roundel with the crucifixion, probably from a book cover, can be securely attributed to the celebrated pilgrimage abbey of Saint Foy at Conques, France's richest surviving repository of medieval goldsmith's work. Several of the rare works dispersed from the abbey's treasury in the nineteenth century share with others still in situ a technique, style, and palette uniquely combined during the abbacy of Bégon III in the late eleventh century. For these pieces the monk goldsmiths employed superimposed copper plaques, the lower one to receive the delicate cloisons that define features and drapery, the upper one cut to delineate the silhouettes of the figures and the cross. Hallmarks of the style include the single cloison used to define eyebrows and noses and the thin loop of gold that creates cowlicks. In the Metropolitan's

Seated luohan with a servant late 18th-early 19th century China This luxurious malachite carving was made for the imperial court of the Qing dynasty. The luohan sits in meditation with a rosary; a boy-servant attends at his feet. From his long eyebrows and position beneath a tree, this luohan may be identified as Nakula. The poem of praise for Nakula in the upper right was authored by the Jiaqing emperor (r. 1796-1820) and inscribed in the hand of his elder brother Yongxing (1752-1823).. Seated luohan with a servant 39632

Historic, Babylon. Babylonian demon Pazuzu, bronze, 1000 BC.

Rune stone, granite,1100-1150, Andersta, Uppland, Sweden. The runic inscription states that 'Lidsmod had this stone carved in the memory of Julbjorn (his) father'.

Multiple Buddhas in rows. Burma, 1000-1300

The Kayung totem pole, made by the Haida people. Dated 19th Century

Figure with knobbed headdress and robe, Pacheco Culture, Tiahuanaco, Peru, 600-1000 Artist: Unknown.

Vintage Photograph. Small wooden carved statue of Native American male figure wearing headdress with arm raised, Frame 2

Carved wooden figure, erotic sculpture on a tomb of the Sakalava, Menabe region, West Madagascar, Madagascar, Africa

Nigeria, Edo, Benin, Brass plaques that show oba (king) with other people, 1500-1600 AD

Osiris (left) and Anhur (right). Anhur (Onuris, Onouris, An-Her) was originally a god of war who was worshipped in the Egyptian area of Abydos. is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead

Mu Yu Chinese early 20th century The fish is a Buddhist symbol of watchfulness, reflecting a belief that the fish never sleeps. This state of wakeful awareness is reinforced by the hollow sound of the muyu, a fish-shaped slit drum used to accompany Buddhist chant. Laid flat and struck on the red circle with a mallet in measured beats, this version, from Yunnan Province, is a less abstract rendering than most temple instruments. The muyu may also be found in vocal and instrumental ensembles of Guangzhou

Buddha in a buddhist temple. China.

Romanesque Mother of God with child, St., Saint, Saint

A jangseung or village guardian; a Korean totem pole usually made of wood. Jangseungs were traditionally placed at the edges of villages to mark village boundaries and frighten away demons.

Egyptian Ushabti or ushabtis. The ushabti also called shabti or shawabti, was an Ancient Egyptian funerary figurine

Buddhist ritual conch shell with a dancing Hevajra, 12th-13th century, Bronze, Cambodia, 12th-13th century, This bronze takes the form of a conch shell, a vessel used in both Buddhist and Hindu rituals. Blown at the beginning of ceremonies, the instrument makes the sound of the sacred syllable 'Om,' believed to purify the mind before meditation. Buddhism and Hinduism were often practiced side by side in the kingdoms of Southeast Asia; however, Hinduism was the official religion of Khmer kings until the conversion to Buddhism of Jayavarman VII (reign c. 1181-1218), after which Buddhist art flourished. The embellished bronze features a dancing, multiheaded Hevajra, a key deity in Vajrayana Buddhism, a sect that emphasizes ritual as a means to enlightenment.

Halo (Prabha) ca. second half of the 13th century Indonesia (Java). Halo (Prabha) 39416

K'el-hitaga'ngo 19th century Native American (Haida or Tsimshian). K'el-hitaga'ngo 501228

Tlingit Shaman's ornament made from carved bone amulets from Southeastern Alaska from the late 1800's

Totempfahl des Volkes der Haida Totem pole of the Haida people, Canada. Artifacts of America. Publication of the Meyers encyclopedia, Vol. 7, Leipzig, Germany, 1910. LicenseRF Copyright: xZoonar.com/SergeyxKohlx 23196743

Head of a Grimacing Male Deity 9th century Thailand. Head of a Grimacing Male Deity 38446

China, Xi'an, Qin Shi Huang Di Mausoleum, Kneeling Terracotta archer.

Mask. No-mask, representing Yamauba, the woman from the mountains.

Illustration depicting two Australian aborigines in traditional cloaks. Dated c1850

Benin ivory mask, representing Queen Idia, the mother of Esigie, the Oba of Benin who ruled from 1504 to 1550. She played a very significant role in the rise and reign of her son. She has been described as a great warrior. Benin, (Nigeria) 16th century

Statue of King Jayavarman VII, Phimai National Museum, Phimai, Korat, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Isan, Isaan, Thailand, Asia

Ibeji figure used in a cult of twin worship; Yoruba tribe; Nigeria; West Africa 20th century

Scarab With an Image of the Gods Ptah and Sakhmet ca. 1295-1186 B.C. New Kingdom, Ramesside The scarab was shaped like a dung beetle, "scarabaeus sacer," which is also the source of its modern name. The dung beetle was "kheperer" in ancient Egyptian. Having watched the small creatures push huge balls of dung, the ancient Egyptians compared the sun being pushed into the sky at dawn to the beetle, and they referred to the rising sun as "Kheperi." The word for "to become" or "come into being" was "kheper," and the beetle hieroglyph was used to spell all of these words. As such, the scarab became a powerful amulet for rejuvenation in this life and reincarnation in the next. The scarab is inscribed on its base with a standing image of Ptah holding a was-scepter and with Sakhmet behind him. The god is facing a djed-pillar supporting Re-Harakhty.. Scarab With an Image of the Gods Ptah and Sakhmet. ca. 1295-1186 B.C.. Blue glazed steatite. New Kingdom, Ramesside. From Egypt. Dynasty 19

The Kingdom of Champasak (1713-1946) was a kingdom in southern Laos that broke away from the Lan Xang kingdom in 1713. Champasak prospered at the beginning the 18th century, but it was reduced to a vassal state of Siam before the century had passed. Under French rule the kingdom was known as Bassac and became an administrative block with its royalty stripped of many of its privileges. The Kingdom of Champasak was abolished in 1946 when the Kingdom of Laos was formed.

Crucifix, traditionally carved wooden figure of Christ on an altar, Mindre village, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia, Oceania

Densho () ca. 1856 Japanese In Japanese ceremonies, suspended cast iron bells are used for signaling during the prayer and for calling Buddhists to worship. In China, similar bells were employed in ensembles, where they represented the yin, or "receptive" principle, and were sounded after the beat of a large drum (yang, or "creative" element). The densho incorporates many symbolic motifs found in the Far East. The suspension loop (ryuzo) is formed by two dragon heads and a flame; the upper third contains nipples (nyu), symbols of fertility; and the barren field below (ikenomachi) provides a place for poetry or iconography. The chrysanthemum, a symbol of longevity and happiness, forms the striking surface (shuza). The densho may occasionally be heard in the kabuki theatre's off-stage ensembles.. Densho (). Japanese. ca. 1856. Leaded Bronze (trace of antimony). Japan. Idiophone-Struck-bell-without clapper

Replica of ashtavinayaka mahaganapati of ranjangaon Pune Maharashtra India 2010 Copyright: xNitinxKelvalkar/DinodiaxPhotox

of 2