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Kalkin, Visnu's Future Avatar

first half of the 7th century
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Kalkin is the future world savior, understood as the tenth avatar of Vishnu, who will appear in the form of a white horse to judge mankind. Vishnu appears in a number of early legends with a horse’s head, linking him to Vedic horse sacrifice. It is clear from the size and authority of this sculpture that it was worshipped as an important cult deity. It is perhaps not a coincidence that Kalkin Vishnu appears in early seventh-century Cambodia at precisely the same time as the bodhisattva Maitreya, his conceptual counterpart in Buddhism: both are worshipped as messianic saviors.

cat. no. 74

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Kalkin, Visnu's Future Avatar
  • Period: Pre-Angkor period
  • Date: first half of the 7th century
  • Culture: Southern Cambodia
  • Medium: Sandstone
  • Dimensions: H. 52 15/16 in. (134.5 cm); W. 17 7/16 in. (44.3 cm); D. 13 1/8 in. (33.3 cm); Wt. 382 lbs (173.3 kg)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Lent by National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh (Ka.1642)
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art