Architectural Sculpture: Face of Time (Kala-mukha)

1100s–1300s

Medium

Measurements

Overall: 40 x 45.5 x 31 cm (15 3/4 x 17 15/16 x 12 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 1975.104

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Location

244 Indian and Southeast Asian

Did You Know?

The fiercest looking Kala masks are from eastern Java, made between the 10th to 15th century.

Description

The bulging eyes and curved fangs of Kala emphasize the ferocity of the figure who stands for Time and Death, the devourer of all creation. Placed above the entry to an Indonesian temple, Kala serves both to protect the site and indicate a symbolic rebirth for those who pass beneath to enter the sacred space. Though related to the faces of glory on monuments in India, Kala and the volcanic stone from which it has been carved are distinctively Javanese.