Standing Shiva or Temple Guardian (Dvarapala), Vietnam (Champa), ca. first half of the 10th century. Stone. H. 128.3 cm. Gift of R. H. Ellsworth Ltd., in honor of Douglas Dillon, 1987, 1987.478. © 2000–2024 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Located on a major sea route between India and China, Champa, in the central part of Vietnam, played an important role in early Southeast Asian history. This rare sculpture, which may represent either a temple guardian or the Hindu god Shiva, shows the rugged sculpting and distinctive physiognomy, particularly the prominent mustache, that typify the art of the Chams. He wears a short wrap, which features a long front pocket with an oblique upward curve, and a sash. He carries a rosary in his left hand and a club or trident in his right. An early tenth-century date is suggested by stylistic parallels to sculptures in contemporaneous buildings at Mi Son, an important site dedicated to Shiva, as well as further southeast at Khoung My.