bronze figure
- Gallery: Room 33
- Culture: Pala
- Made in: India (Eastern); Bengal (historic) (probably)
- Date: 750 (circa)
- Object type: figure
- Materials: bronze; silver
- Museum number: 1969,0115.1
- 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 bronze figure representing the goddess Manasā, known in some regions as the deity of snakes. She is shown seated on a throne, swathed in an ankle-length robe and adorned with jewelry around the neck, waist, and stomach. Her most striking features include elaborate snake heads forming a canopy above her head and large, disc-shaped earrings. In her lap, an infant is cradled, also protected by tiny serpents.
This bronze, cast and decorated with silver inlay for the eyes, comes from eastern India, likely Bengal, and is linked with the ancient Pala culture. Though its exact date is uncertain, it may be connected to the renowned Buddhist monastery at Nalanda, where metalworkers produced elaborate religious imagery between the 8th and 12th centuries.
The goddess is both protector and bringer of danger—honored and feared in equal measure during summer monsoon festivals when snakes emerge from the earth.
See it in person
bronze figure 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 take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
New, in beta. British Museum support has just launched and is still improving: over 1,000 objects so far, with more added all the time.
