Beyond Bollywood Audio Exhibition
The Buddhist Deity Vajravarahi, circa 1400–1500, Tibet; probably Densatil Monastery, copper alloy with gilding, gemstones, and traces of paint, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Purchased by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Board of Trustees in honor of Dr. Pratapaditya Pal, Senior Curator of Indian and Southeast Asian Art, 1970–95, AC1996.4.1, H. 28.6 cm × W. 24.8 cm
Verbal Description
Hello, my name is Trudy Gaba. I am the curatorial assistant for South Asian Art, Islamic Art, and Antiquities at the Cincinnati Art Museum. I will be reading the verbal description for Buddhist Deity Vajravarahi in Beyond Bollywood: 2000 Years of Dance in Art.
The sculpture titled Buddhist Deity Vajravarahi dates from circa 1400 to 1500 and comes from Tibet, probably the Densatil Monastery. It is copper alloy with gilding, gemstones, and traces of paint. It is in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It was purchased by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Board of Trustees in honor of Dr. Pratapaditya Pal, Senior Curator of Indian and Southeast Asian Art, 1970–95. Its accession number is AC1996.4.1.
This Buddhist Deity Vajravarahi sculpture is made of copper alloy with gilding, gemstones, and traces of paint. It has a gold appearance. It is 28.6 centimeters in height and 24.8 centimeters in width. The figure wears a crown of human skulls and large circular earrings, both gem encrusted. She has what appears to be two gold bands around her neck. Across her chest, which is bare, she wears an interwoven gem encrusted necklace. Draped over her shoulders and hanging down each side and wrapped around her legs is a string of human skulls. Her right arm is bent and extended above her head, and she holds a knife in her right hand. Her left arm is bent down, and the left hand, holding a shell-shaped vessel, is positioned palm up near the figure’s waist. Around both upper arms and wrists we see bracelets with gems. Moving to the figure’s waist, we see a loose belt with three long bands hanging from the left, center and right, each ending in circular gems. She balances on her left leg with a bent knee splayed out to the side. Her right leg is also splayed and bent at the knee, and her right foot touches her left ankle. Both are decorated with bejeweled anklets. Scarves curve from below her right knee, over her head and down her other side, ending just below her left knee.
Label Text
Hello, my name is Trudy Gaba. I am the curatorial assistant for South Asian Art, Islamic Art, and Antiquities at the Cincinnati Art Museum. I will be reading the label for Buddhist Deity Vajravarahi in Beyond Bollywood: 2000 Years of Dance in Art.
The sculpture titled Buddhist Deity Vajravarahi dates from circa 1400 to 1500 and comes from Tibet, probably the Densatil Monastery. It is copper alloy with gilding, gemstones, and traces of paint. It is in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It was purchased by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Board of Trustees in honor of Dr. Pratapaditya Pal, Senior Curator of Indian and Southeast Asian Art, 1970–95. Its accession number is AC1996.4.1.
Scarves waft in graceful curves around Vajravarahi, suggesting the movement of her dance, while at the same time, a string of human skulls hangs weightily from her shoulders. These, and the skulls in her crown, recall that she dwells in cremation grounds and indicate the fierceness she deploys for our benefit.
Each skull in her crown represents one of the five psychological poisons that we can transform into perceptive awareness if we meditate on Vajravarahi: anger, attachment, pride, jealousy, and delusion. Like the other images of this goddess nearby, here she brandishes a flaying knife with which she will destroy the obstacles to our spiritual progress contained in the skull bowl she holds.