Hevajra and Nairātmyā
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.This sculpture is an early and rare Tibetan representation of Hevajra, an Esoteric Buddhist deity well known from eastern Indian medieval Tantrism and preserved in Vajrayana Buddhism as practiced in Tibet. This work was produced during the second wave of Buddhism in Tibet, which was propagated in part by the great Indian Vajrayana exponent Atisha, a trained master of the Hevajra Tantra text, who studied at Rajgir and Vikramashila monasteries (mahaviharas) before being invited to teach in Tibet. The work dates to the end of the twelfth century, an emerging moment for Tibetan devotional art coinciding with the historical collapse of monastic Buddhism in India..
Artwork Details
- Title: Hevajra and Nairātmyā
- Date: late 12th century
- Culture: Tibet
- Medium: Brass with silver and pigment
- Dimensions: H. 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm); W. 9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm); D. 2 3/4 in. (7 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Promised Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Chilton Jr., in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary
- Object Number: L.2020.3
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art