Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Shiva Linga
Not on view
Shiva is represented most commonly in his aniconic form—as a linga, a shaft of stone that, to varying degrees, assumes the features of a phallus. In the beginning, Shiva was evoked through the worship of naturally occurring objects or landforms acknowledged as a linga. This large stone linga is one of many found at Oc Eo in the Mekong Delta, indicating the locale’s strong Shaiva affiliations. It was discovered in association with the fired-brick and riverstone foundations of what was likely an open pavilion shrine. By the seventh century, lingas were installed in enclosed brick sanctuaries in keeping with Zhenla architectural practices.
cat. no. 80
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