Untitled

Unknown

late 16th–17th century · Distemper and ink on cloth · Asian Art

This black-ground (Tibetan: nag thang) painting was installed in the chapel (gonkhang) dedicated to the wrathful protective deities (dharmapalas), a room reserved for tantric initiation rites within a Tibetan monastery. The exceptional scale and complexity of the composition relate the painting to the offering-scene murals known as “sets of ornaments” (Tibetan: rgyan tshogs) that adorn the interiors of shrines dedicated to the dharmapalas. Two wrathful tantric deities are represented with flames emanating from their beings, standing on a male corpse atop a lotus pedestal. They are draped in flayed skins and garlands of severed human heads. Offerings of flayed skins, ritual utensils and objects, and a vast assortment of weapons fill the interior. Framing the scene above is a curtain of flayed human skins and organ entrails.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 16th–17th century

Medium

Distemper and ink on cloth

Culture

Tibet

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Frances Gould-Naftal and Marvin Naftal, 1983