figure (ritual & belief: representations)

(Presented 12.11.51/7 V&A). Maitreya (?) (painted clay). Male figure seated on a rock or plinth covered with a green carpet with floral motifs and a border in blue green and gold. Seated in European fashion, right hand is broken off, left hand is beside him; dark brown skin, bald head with ‘Chinese’ features, dressed in green and red robes with chest exposed and a heavy brown bead necklace. Two smaller figures with light brown skin and green loin cloths clamber over him- one beside his right knee, the other behind his right shoulder reaches up to hold his right ear. ? a lohan. Inscribed: “BYAMPSA”.
H:135 mm

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database sometimes uses language taken from historical documents to help research, which may now appear outdated and even offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections or can suggest corrections to our information, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk