Asian sculpture

The Asian sculpture collection comprises objects made of different materials: wood, bronze, silver and stone. They range from the majestic 12th-century wooden statue of the goddess Guan Yin from China and two impressive 14th-century wooden temple guards from Japan to the pair of 9th/10th-century silver statuettes of Shiva and Parvati from Java, each approximately 10 centimetres in height. Through the Vereniging van Vrienden der Aziatische Kunst, the Rijksmuseum administers many other splendid works, including Amida, a 12th-century Japanese Buddha statue, and the graceful Heavenly Beauty from India. Some objects are steeped in legend; the head of a Buddha from Borobudur in Central Java is said to bring bad luck, although the museum has yet to notice this! The 12th-century dancing Shiva Nataraja, a bronze statue of the four-armed deity in a large aureole of flames, is one of the finest of its kind in the world.