Caption:
Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, 7th century, India (Jammu and Kashmir) or Pakistan (Swat Valley), Bronze inlaid with silver, H. 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm), Sculpture, The messianic savior Maitreya is identified by the flask he holds in his lower hand. He is seated in a yogic posture on a double-lotus cushion and extends spiritual protection to believers with his raised hand, here displayed with the palm facing inwards, not outwards as is conventional