“Opening at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on July 21, 2023, the exhibition Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200 BCE–400 CE will illuminate how the religious landscape of ancient India was transformed by the Buddhist presence. Featuring more than 125 objects, including major loans from India, the exhibition will consist of stone sculptures associated with the adornment of the stupa—the monumental dome structures that housed the Buddha relics—as well as metalwork, ivory, ceramics, paintings, and jewelry. It will present a series of evocative and interlocking themes to reveal both the pre-Buddhist origins of figurative sculpture in India and the early narrative tradition that was central to this formative moment in early Indian art.” — The Met

Max Hollein, Marina Kellen French Director of The Met, said: “Buddhism inspired an extraordinarily innovative and beautiful flowering of art in ancient India. It is a tremendous honor to present this stunning exhibition—and to introduce new discoveries from this pivotal moment in the history of art—to our global audience. We express a special thanks to the Government of India and the six state governments in India, who have all been generous lenders to this pioneering exhibition, along with institutions in Europe and the United States.”

Installation views of Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200 BCE– 400 CE, on view July 21–November 13, 2023 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photos by Anna-Marie Kellen, courtesy of The Met.  

John Guy, Florence and Herbert Irving Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art at The Met, said: “This exhibition presents the story of the origins of Buddhist art through the lens of newly discovered masterpieces from early India. It showcases the beginnings of Buddhist art in southern India and presents it in a wider landscape of early Buddhist devotional practice, centered on honoring the Buddha and his relics. Buddhist monasteries were places for meditation but were also, on occasions, places for noisy festivals, the air heavy with the fragrance of fresh flowers and perfumes. The lived traditions of early Buddhism are foregrounded here, along with the role of beautiful stories that found expression in the art adorning the stupa. This is an exhibition that celebrates the senses, just as Buddhist worship does.” 

Tree and Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200 BCE–400 CE is organized by John Guy, Florence and Herbert Irving Curator of South and Southeast Asian Art at The Met, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.