NARRATOR:
Fierce and benign deities, protective spirits and demonic creatures animate all sides of this elaborately ornamented chest. Its background is alive with scrolling vines and blossoms, pierced to offer a tantalizing glimpse of the interior. A Buddhist monk or wealthy individual probably used it to store manuscripts or other belongings.
Take a closer look at the gilded figures that glow against the copper background. On top of the lid, a three-headed Buddhist deity meditates on a lotus. He is the compassionate Avalokiteshvara, perched above the mountains that are his home. Beside him, female nature spirits touch surrounding vines, making them burst into blossom. Around the open lid float monks and reclining Buddhas. The smaller sides of the chest are guarded by lion-headed dragons.
On the front, the warrior goddess Durga brandishes weapons in her many arms. She towers over the creatures at her feet; a lion, her constant companion, and a vanquished demon. Attending her are a skeleton and a pot-bellied female who sticks out her tongue and brandishes a skull cup. Macabre counterparts to Durga’s beauty, they remind us of her associations with death and destruction. To the left and right fly angels celebrating Durga’s power over evil.
Chest
18th-19th century
Asia: China, Tibet
Not on View
This impressive chest was likely used by high-ranking monks or a noble family to store manuscripts and other ritual objects. It is embellished with both Hindu deities, including Bhairava and Durga, as well as Buddhist divinitites such as Avalokiteshvara and the Buddha. The mixed iconography as well as the technique suggest that it was made along the Nepal-Tibet border when Hinduism and Buddhism flourish side by side.
Details
- Title: Chest
- Date: 18th-19th century
- Medium: Gilt copper repoussé inlaid with turquoise
- Dimensions: 9 x 18-7/8 x 11-1/4 in. (22.9 x 47.9 x 28.6 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1975.11.1.S
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
In the Land of Snow: Buddhist Art of the Himalayas
- Norton Simon Museum, 2014-03-28 to 2014-08-25
Durga: Avenging Goddess, Nurturing Mother
- Norton Simon Museum, 2005-10-07 to 2006-03-27
Painting and Sculpture from Nepal, Tibet and Northwest India
- Norton Simon Museum, 1994-09-22 to 1997-06-01
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 2: Art from the Himalayas & China, 2003, no. 117 pp. 170-171
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 1185 p. 380
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