Bodhisattva, probably Maitreya

Description In 7th- and 8th-century Cambodia and northeastern Thailand, Mahayana ("Great Vehicle") Buddhists worshiped a triad consisting of the Buddha flanked by two bodhisattvas (future Buddhas), Avalokiteshvara and Maitreya. Avalokiteshvara symbolizes the quality of loving kindness, and Maitreya is due to appear on earth as the next Buddha.

Exhibitions

• Unearthly Elegance: Buddhist Art from the Griswold Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1995.

Provenance Private collection, Thonburi, prior to April 13, 1951; Alexander B. Griswold, Monkton, April 13, 1951 [presented to the Breezewood Foundation, December 1960, inv. no. 307]; Walters Art Museum, 1992, by bequest.

Inscriptions none

Credit Bequest of A. B. Griswold, 1992