Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Vajrapani (Bodhisattva & Buddhist Deity)

ཕྱག་ན་རྡོ་རྗེ། 金刚手菩萨
(item no. 630)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1800 - 1899
Lineages Buddhist
Size 81.28x57.15cm (32x22.50in)
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton
Collection Rubin Museum of Art
Catalogue # acc.# F1998.9.1
Painting School Palpung / Situ
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Interpretation / Description

Vajrapani, Bodhisattva.

Peaceful in appearance, dark blue in colour, he has one face and two hands. The right hand holds to the heart an upright gold vajra sceptre and the left upraised in the act of performing a mudra (gesture). The black hair is worn on the crown of the head with some falling loose, decorated with a delicate pink blossom. Adorned with gold earrings, a necklace and bracelets he is richly attired in various coloured silk garments of orange, yellow and red. In a relaxed posture with the legs loosely placed he sits atop a soft moon disc and pink lotus blossom above a rocky outcropping. Framed by an expansive aureole of ethereal light, in the shade of a large wizened tree he dwells placidly against a spacious background.

Jeff Watt 2-99

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