The bodhisattva Maitreya

Artists creating images of Hindu and Buddhist deities faced the question of how to make various deities recognizable. Eventually, certain physical features, garments, and objects held in the hand became associated with certain deities. The princely garments here suggest that this image is of a bodhisattva. The water bottle held in the left hand suggests that this particular bodhisattva is Maitreya.

Maitreya is believed to be a powerful spiritual being who, when the time is right, will be born on earth in human form and become the next Buddha. Though little actual jewelry has survived from this early period, the elaborate ornaments, collar, necklace, and bracelets shown here provide evidence of what such jewelry looked like. Notice on the necklace the long-bodied centaurs (half-man, half-horse creatures). A pair of gold earrings from a slightly later period is displayed on the freestanding wall behind you.