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Linga Altar with Four Faces of Shiva

dated 1045
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 252
Shiva linga are variously represented as an unadorned pillar or with one, four, or five heads of Shiva. This linga altar has a four-faced form (chaturmukha). It is banded, likely with munja grass holy to Shiva, alluding to the taming of Shiva’s phallic energies through his supreme asceticism achieved by yogic practices (tapas). The Newari inscription states that King Bhaskaradeva gave the altar in the year Samvat 166.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Linga Altar with Four Faces of Shiva
  • Period: Thakuri period
  • Date: dated 1045
  • Culture: Nepal (Kathmandu Valley)
  • Medium: Copper alloy
  • Dimensions: H. 5 1/2 in. (14 cm); L. 7 in. (17.8 cm); Diam. of base 5 in. (6.8 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork
  • Credit Line: Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Gift of Samuel Eilenberg, 1987
  • Object Number: 1987.142.314
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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