Saraswati, Hindu goddess sculpture at Embassy Row, Washington DC, US.

Saraswati is a 16-foot gold and white sculpture outside the Embassy of Indonesia on Embassy Row in Washington, D.C. The Hindu goddess stands on an open lotus holding a small object aloft, a white bird with spread wings below her, and two kneeling children lean toward an open book on the tiered base, which carries a plaque reading "PATUNG SARASWATI".

The sculpture was completed in 2013 by a group of five Balinese sculptors working under the direction of I. Nyoman Sudarwa, and the entire carving took about five weeks. It was offered as a diplomatic gift from Indonesia to the United States.

Saraswati is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, and in Bali she is honoured on Saraswati Day, when offerings are made to books. The sculpture was inaugurated in 2014 by Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as a gift from Indonesia to the United States, and it stands in the open air outside the embassy, where passers-by on Embassy Row can see it.

The sculpture sits on the public sidewalk and is fully visible from street level with no entry required. It fits naturally into a walk along Embassy Row, where several embassies and other outdoor monuments are within easy reach.

The three kneeling students at the base are not named on the sculpture, but the Indonesian embassy identifies one of them as a young Barack Obama, who lived in Jakarta from 1967 to 1971. The dark plaque in front names the work "PATUNG SARASWATI" and the office of the President of the Republic of Indonesia.