A gilt bronze torana

TIBET, 14TH/15TH CENTURY

Details

A gilt bronze torana
Tibet, 14th/15th century
Of elongated shape with a central void surmounted by Heruka Chakrasamvara and surrounded by Chakrasamvara retinue figures standing on lotus bases wearing jewelry inlaid with hardstones, rimmed by a beaded and flaming border
9¾ in. (24.7 cm.) high

Provenance

Onno Janssens Collection, Netherlands, acquired in Amsterdam by 1996

Literature

Himalayan Art Resources, www.himalayanart.org, item no. 66768

Lot Essay

This torana likely backed the meditational deity Vajrayogini. At the top center is Heruka Chakrasamvara. The surrounding figures, some with animal faces, are the directional dakinis associated with the Tantric systems of Vajrayogini and Chakrasamvara.

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