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Mahachakra Vajrapani
OriginChina
Date15th century
Dimensions50 7/8 × 34 3/8 × 2 1/4 in.
MediumSilk and gold embroidery, coral and seed pearls; Technique: Embroidery
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art
Object numberC2003.52.1
Himalayan Art Resources Number65108
DescriptionTibetan Buddhism played a prominent role in the courts of the Mongolian Yuan (1279–1638) and early Chinese Ming (1368–1644) dynasties, resulting in the creation of Tibetan Buddhist art in the imperial ateliers. Here a Tibetan composition depicting a wrathful form of the deity Vajrapani deity has been re-created in the Chinese medium of silk embroidery. Fourteenth-century Tibetan lotus and vase columns featuring eagles (garuda), snakes (naga), and seamonsters (makara) are combined with Chinese-style clouds holding disks that present Vajrapani’s mantra, “om vajrapani hum,” in Tibetan script. Small coral beads and seed pearls are stitched into the central deity’s ornaments.
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late 17th-18th century
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19th century
18th century
19th century