Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Shiva (Indian God) - (five faces)

ལྷ་དབང་ཕྱུག། ཧིན་དྷུ་དང་ནང་པ། 自在天(印度和佛教神)
(item no. 100028)
Origin Location Nepal
Date Range 1400 - 1499
Lineages Hindu
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Paper
Collection Rubin Museum of Art
Catalogue # acc. # F1997.46.2
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Interpretation / Description

Shiva, Panchmukha (The Five Faced Auspicious One). This is only a tentative identification and not textually supported.

Full of character, facial expression and color these four deities remain unidentified. They are painted on paper with the reverse of each filled with text in the nagari script of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. These pages are from a much larger set depicting an entire Tantric system, however these deities display both Hindu and Buddhist features. An informed identification awaits further study.

Jeff Watt 5-2005

Reverse of Painting
English Translation of Inscription: (Nagari script).

Secondary Images
Related Items
Exhibition Appearances
Exhibition: From the Land of the Gods: Art of the Kathmandu Valley

Thematic Sets
Hindu Deity: Shiva, Panchmukha (Five Faces)
Hindu Deity: Shiva (Complex Figures)
Collection of RMA: Best of Collection 2
Nepal: Illuminated Manuscripts (Shaiva Text)
Nepal: Paintings
Ritual Object: Trident
Nepal: Buddhism
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art: Nepal
Hindu Deity: Shiva Main Page
Hindu: Miscellaneous