Untitled

Unknown

15th century · Copper with traces of gilding · Asian Art

This wrathful Tantric Buddhist personage, with a shaved head, a vertical third eye, and upward-pointing fangs, is unidentified. His jewelry derives from eastern Indian prototypes of the Pala period (9th–12th century). He points a single-pronged thunderbolt scepter (vajra) toward a heart-shaped cavity at the center of his chest, itself occupied by a multipronged vajra. In his raised hand he holds a sword pommel with a guard in the shape of a lion's head.

Artist

Unknown

Date

15th century

Medium

Copper with traces of gilding

Culture

Nepal, Kathmandu Valley

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, in honor of Douglas Dillon, 2001