Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Head of a man, probably a yaksha
India, Phanigiri, Suryapet district, Telangana
Not on view
This head of a yaksha, or nature deity, excavated at Phanigiri, suggests that sculptors of the Ikshvaku era were interested not only in narrative relief panels but also in the technical challenges of carving in the round. Independent sculptures of yakshas have a long tradition in India. Even when yakshas were brought into the service of Buddhism, they retained their authority and independent identity. As the recent excavations at Phanigiri and Kanaganahalli have reaffirmed, yaksha shrines were an integral part of early monastic complexes. Yakshas were assigned guardianship roles and protected the community of monks from the intrusion of malevolent forces.
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