Collection record · Objects & craft
Virupa
The collection record classifies this work as sculpture. It is dated early 1400s. Recorded culture or place: China, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Yongle reign (1403-1424).
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Virupa
- Date
- early 1400s
- Culture / origin
- China, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Yongle reign (1403-1424)
- Materials and technique
- Gilt bronze with silver, stones, and pigment
- Dimensions
- Overall: 43.6 cm (17 3/16 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1972.96
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
Virupa is one of the great teachers in the history of tantric Buddhism. His posture references his ability to stop the sun; as an enlightened being, he can control phenomena of nature. As a tantric practitioner, he overturns ordinary assumptions about proper behavior, so he overeats, drinks large quantities of liquor, and waits for the king to pay his bill at the tavern.
At the edge of the lotus pedestal is an inscription identifying the image as having been made in the imperial kilns of the third emperor of the Ming dynasty in China as a gift to a Tibetan monastic leader. While closely linked to Tibetan styles, the luxurious detailing, special gilding process, and the casting of the ornaments onto the body without use of inlay are specifically Chinese characteristics.
FOLLOW THE SOURCE
Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of Mary B. Lee, C. Bingham Blossom, Dudley S. Blossom III, Laurel B. Kovacik, and Elizabeth B. Blossom, in memory of Elizabeth B. Blossom · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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