This spectacular three-tiered crown is ornamented with images and symbols of the Five Cosmic Buddhas. These deities, who are emanations of the supreme Buddha essence (Adi-Buddha), guard the four cardinal directions plus the center. A priest known as the Vajracharya (Master of the Thunderbolt) would have worn this crown during certain ritual performances to help him identify with and assume the cosmic forces embodied by the Buddhas.
Details
- Title : Vajracharya Crown
- Year : 13th-14th century
- Classification : Cultural Objects/ Jewellery
- Medium : Gilded Copper Alloy, Gemstones
- Dimension : Overall: 11 1/2 × 7 3/4 × 8 3/4 in. (29.21 × 19.69 × 22.23 cm)
- Accession No : Object Number: 84.41
- Country/ Geo-location : NEPAL
- Collection : Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
- Credit Line : Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund
- Status : NOT ON VIEW
- Exhibition History : "Crows of the Vajra masters: Ritual Art of Nepal", Metropolitan Museum of Art. NY, December 16, 2017 - December 16, 2018. 2005-2006: "Look Here: Dazzle", VMFA, November 2, 2005 - January 29, 2006 2002: "A Golden Legacy: Fifty Years of the Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund", VMFA, Deane gallery, April 2 - August 18, 2002. 1992-1993: "Mystic Visions: The Virginia Museum's Collection of Nepalese and Tibetan Art", VMFA July 6, 1992 - January 3, 1993. 1975-1976: "Nepal Where the Gods are Young", Asia House Gallery, New York, September 25 - November 23, 1975; Seattle Art Museum, December 7, 1975 - January 25, 1976; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, February 16 - April 4, 1976.
- Published References : Guy, John. "Crowns of the Vajra Masters: Tracing Nepalese Buddhist Ritual." Orientations Volume 49, No 2, March/April. 2018: 90-101. (fig 12, p. 97) Barriault, Anne B., and Kay M. Davidson. Selections from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Richmond, VA: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2007. (pp 180-181, color illus) Anne Barriault, Selections Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1997) p. 23, ill. (color).