Figure of a garuda
- Audio guide stop: 607
- Gallery: Room 33
- Date: 19thC
- Object type: figure
- Materials: gold; bronze
- Museum number: 1992,1214.26
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is a striking figure of Garuda, a guardian and symbol of great spiritual power in Asian traditions. The figure is cast in bronze and gilded with gold, giving it a radiant appearance. Garuda is shown with flaming hair, a dramatic detail that crowns his head and bears the sun and moon—important celestial symbols.
This 19th-century artwork was discovered or acquired in Tibet. Though relatively large for such figures, it remains surprisingly delicate in execution, with smooth contours and a richly textured gleam from the gilding.
Measuring about 69 centimeters tall without the mount, this piece was donated to the collection by Johannes Nikolaus Schmitt and Mareta Meade. Garuda's depiction here blends strength and divine symbolism, making it both a powerful spiritual image and a remarkable example of bronze craftsmanship.
See it in person
Figure of a garuda is on display in Room 33 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 607, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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