Collection record · Dress & textiles
Achala, King of the Wrathful Ones
The collection record classifies this work as textile. It is dated early 1200s. Recorded culture or place: China, Zhejiang Province, probably Hangzhou.
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A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Achala, King of the Wrathful Ones
- Date
- early 1200s
- Culture / origin
- China, Zhejiang Province, probably Hangzhou
- Materials and technique
- Thangka, silk tapestry with pearls
- Dimensions
- Overall: 100.6 x 74.3 cm (39 5/8 x 29 1/4 in.); Mounted: 111.1 x 83.8 x 7 cm (43 3/4 x 33 x 2 3/4 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1992.72
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
The powerful blue body of Achala, meaning “immovable,” dominates the composition. He holds a sword to cut through ignorance and a noose for catching illusions that plague the path to enlightenment. Small personifications of furious destroyers of illusion (maya) emanate from him on either side, each with his own weapon. This image expresses what advanced practitioners would visualize in meditation rituals, as explained in Buddhist texts called tantras. Woven with a sophistication matched only by products of the Hangzhou looms, this devotional tapestry made its way to Khara-Khoto, capital of the Tangut Empire located in present-day Mongolia and Central Asia, where tantric Buddhism was prevalent.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund · 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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