On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Buddha footprints (buddhapada)
India, Phanigiri, Suryapet district, Telangana
Inscribed: Success! (This) pair of feet as pious gift of Bodhika, grandson of the venerable (. . .)
A symbol of the Buddha's presence, a stone slab depicting his footprints (buddhapada) was a regular feature of Buddhist monastic architecture in southern India. In a religious setting, reverence for the footprint alludes to a profound respect for higher knowledge-wisdom, witnessed by devotees prostrating themselves before the feet of a spiritual mentor. This buddhapada was excavated from a semicircular (apsidal) shrine at the Phanigiri monastery. It carries a one-line inscription that honors the donor’s gift and asserts his lineage. The footprints display numerous auspicious marks of a Great Man (mahapurusa), most prominently the Dharma-wheel on the soles of the feet.
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