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Photography by Bruce M. White. The Rubin Museum of Art. 2013.
Mahakala
Photography by Bruce M. White. The Rubin Museum of Art. 2013.
Photography by Bruce M. White. The Rubin Museum of Art. 2013.

Mahakala

OriginCentral Tibet, possibly Densatil Monastery
Datemid-14th to mid-15th century
DimensionsObject size: 13 x 8 1/4 x 3 3/4 in.
Object w/ Base/Mount size: 19 1/8 x 12 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.
Base/Mount size: TBD
MediumGilt copper alloy with inlays of semiprecious stones and pigment
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art
Object numberC2005.16.20
Himalayan Art Resources Number65443
DescriptionThis bronze of the protector deity Mahakala presents him as “the Excellent One,” a particularly fierce form with a large head, gaping mouth, heavy coat and boots, and holding a large sandalwood club in both hands in front of his body. This figure relates stylistically to the great religious and artistic center Densatil Monastery, founded in the twelfth century in central Tibet. The monastery is famous for its monumental reliquary stupas, built successively in the thirteenth through fifteenth century, which were elaborately and richly ornamented with gilt bronze statues inlaid with semiprecious stones. This monastery, documented by the Italian scholar Giuseppe Tucci on an expedition in 1948, was completely destroyed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), and fragments of its great artistic heritage were scattered to public and private collections around the world.