Panel from a Portable Shrine: The Descent of the Buddha from Trayastrimsha Heaven

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image depicts a rectangular sculpture with a central figure and multiple smaller figures around it. The central figure is a man with short hair, wearing a long robe that covers his body and has a decorative pattern on it. He stands on a small platform. The central figure holds his left arm down by his side and extends his right arm outward. Seven smaller figures surround the central figure. Two are on the bottom left and right, and five are along the top. The two on the bottom are men with medium-length hair. The man on the bottom left holds an object in both hands and looks down. The man on the bottom right holds a long object. The five figures on top appear to be men with medium-length hair. They each hold onto a curved object above the central figure. The sculpture appears to be made of stone or ivory and has a light-brown color. The background of the image is gray to white, with a shadow cast by the sculpture.