A silver-inlaid bronze figure of Mahasiddha Virupa

TIBET, 15TH/16TH CENTURY

Details

A silver-inlaid bronze figure of Mahasiddha Virupa
Tibet, 15th/16th century
Seated over an antelope skin on a lotus base in lalitasana with an incised yogic band spanning his belly and leg and a silver girdle crossing over his torso, one hand holding a skullcup and the other raised in gesture, his expressive face with prominent silver-inlaid eyes and hair in a high topknot
3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm.) high

Provenance

The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago, acquired before 1996

Literature

Pratapaditya Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, 1997, p. 341, cat. no. 302

Exhibited

On loan to Art Institute of Chicago since 1996

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Lot Essay

The Indian mystic Virupa is credited with performing many extraordinary deeds, including parting the waters of the Ganges and drinking enormous amounts of alcoholic beverages. Once he was refused further liquor at a tavern unless he could pay, upon which he prevented the sun from setting for two days with his magical powers. The local king, highly concerned, settled his bill in order to free the sun. Here he is depicted with his right arm raised in the characteristic gesture of tarjanimudra, ordering the sun to stop in its path.

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