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Architectural Sculpture: Face of Time (Kala-mukha)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineArchitectural Sculpture: Face of Time (Kala-mukha), 1100s–1300s. Volcanic stone; overall: 40 x 45.5 x 31 cm (15 3/4 x 17 15/16 x 12 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund, 1975.104
