Buddhism entered Nepal from India in the fourth-century B.C.E and remains an active religion there today. An inscription on the base of this devotional image suggests that the Nepali queen Dipamala is represented as the goddess Prajnaparamita.
This goddess personifies the scripture called the Perfection of Knowledge, an important and popular Mahayana (Great Way) Buddhist text.
Details
- Title : Queen as the Goddess Prajnaparamita
- Year : 14th century
- Classification : Sculpture
- Medium : Gilt copper
- Dimension : H x W x D: 20.3 x 17 x 17 cm (8 x 6 11/16 x 6 11/16 in)
- Accession No : F1986.23
- Country/ Geo-location : Nepal
- Culture : Buddhism
- Collection : Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
- Credit Line : Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
- Status : Sackler Gallery 22: Encountering the Buddha
- PREVIOUS OWNER(S) : Mr. and Mrs. Paul Manheim *Peter Marks Works of Art United States, active 1960 - 2002
- PROVENANCE : Mr. (1906-1999) and Mrs. Paul Manheim [1] *To 1986 Peter Marks Gallery, New York City, to 1986 *From 1986 Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Peter Marks Gallery in 1986
- PUBLISHED REFERENCES : Pratapaditya Pal. The Art of Tibet. New York and Greenwich, CT. cat. 61. *Ian Alsop. Metal Sculpture of the Khana Malla Kingdom of West Nepal/West Tibet. vol. 25, no. 6 Hong Kong, June 1994. . *Pratapaditya Pal. Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure. Exh. cat. Chicago. p. 22, fig. 2. *Amy Heller. Hidden Treasures of the Himalayas: Tibetan Manuscripts, Paintings and Sculptures of Dolplo. Chicago. pp. 217-218, fig. 162. *Ulrich von Schroeder. Indo-Tibetan Bronzes. Hong Kong. cat. 90b, p. 348.