Asia

This category includes antiquities from the vast and culturally diverse regions of Asia. The objects illustrate long-standing artistic traditions and the ways in which material culture expressed religious ideas, social values, and connections between communities across time.

Japanese wooden Shinto deity figure, 900s CE

Shinto Deity: II (900s CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious Japan

A wooden figure from the 900s, representing a Shinto kami, carved with Tang-style robes and traces of polychromy.

Portable Buddhist temple from Bihar carved in kaolinite, 900s CE

Portable Buddhist Temple (900s CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious India

A kaolinite buddhist temple from the 900s, displaying scenes from the Buddha’s life, carved with niches on each side.

Stone figure of Lokeshvara Khasarpana with Amitabha crown and traces of pigment

Bodhisattva of Compassion as Lokeshvara the Sky Flyer (Khasarpana) (Late 1000s CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious India

A stone figure from the late 1000s, depicting Lokeshvara with Amitabha crown, carved from kaolinite with traces of pigment.

Pala-period stone Buddha in bhumisparsha mudra carved from chloritic schist

Buddha Calling on Earth to Witness (800s CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious India

A stone figure from the 800s, depicting Buddha in Bhumisparsha Mudra, carved from chloritic schist with ficus leaves above.

Pala-period stone One-Faced Linga (Ekamukhalinga) carved from chloritic schist

One-Faced Linga (Ekamukhalinga) (600–700s CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious India

A stone linga from the 600s–700s, depicting Shiva with a crescent moon, carved from chloritic schist with a third eye and matted hair.

Japanese wooden figure of Zenki holding an axe, painted red, 1400s.

Seated Zenki (1400s CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious Japan

A wooden figure from the 1400s, depicting Zenki with an axe, painted red with detailed carvings.

Japanese Kamakura-period koma-inu guardian lion-dog sculpture, 1185–1333.

Koma Inu (1185-1333 CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious Japan

A wooden koma inu from the 1200s–1300s, depicting a guardian lion-dog, carved with traces of polychromy.

Japanese Kamakura-period wooden guardian figure (Nio), 1185–1333.

Guardian Figure: Nio (1185-1333 CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious Japan

A wooden statue from the 1200s, depicting a Nio guardian with a fierce expression, carved from chestnut and cypress.

Japanese Muromachi-period figure of Koki, seated with vase and bamboo backpack, 1400s.

Seated Koki (1400s CE)

Antiquities Asia Ceremonial & Religious Japan

A wooden figure from the 1400s, depicting a vase-bearing Koki in bamboo attire, painted green with gesso and gilded accents.

Japanese sculpture of a tengu travelling as a priest, early to mid-1800s.

Tengu Travelling as a Priest (Early to Mid-1800s CE)

Antiquities Asia Japan Sculpture

An ivory carving from the early to mid-1800s, depicting a Tengu in yamabushi attire, shaped with a long nose and fine details.

Japanese porcelain dish with ginkgo leaves in underglaze blue, late 1600s–early 1700s.

Dish With Ginkgo Leaves (Late 1600s-Early 1700s CE)

Antiquities Asia Household Items Japan

A porcelain dish from the late 1600s–early 1700s, featuring ginkgo leaves in underglaze blue, outlined with enamel details.

Japanese Shinto deity sculpture, Heian period (794–1185 CE).

Shinto Deity (900s CE)

Antiquities Asia Japan Sculpture

Shaped in the 900s CE, this wooden shinto figure from Japan’s Usa Hachiman Shrine stands as a kami, marked with faded polychromy.