Vajracharya Priest's Crown
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Embellished with numerous, varied semiprecious stones, this example is perhaps the most ornate and best preserved of the known Vajracharya crowns. All the applied decor is repoussé gilt-copper sheet riveted to the crown; only the thunderbolt (vajra) finial, which surmounts all the crowns, was cast. Four Transcendent Buddhas occupy the cardinal positions around the lower section of crown, and the presence of the fifth, presiding Transcendent Buddha, Vairocana, is likely implied by the vajra finial. The curvature of the diadem band, richly inlaid with lapis lazuli, is particularly pronounced and gives an exceptional elegance to this crown.
Artwork Details
- Title: Vajracharya Priest's Crown
- Date: ca. 14th century
- Culture: Nepal
- Medium: Repoussé gilt copper with semiprecious stones
- Dimensions: 11 1/2 × 7 3/4 × 8 3/4 in. (29.2 × 19.7 × 22.2 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork
- Credit Line: Lent by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund, 84.41
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art