Mahakala’s top two hands militantly grasp a sword and trident, while his lower hands hold a lemon and skull cup and encircle his consort. Her form is difficult to distinguish: she wears a tiger skin wrapped around her waist and holds a skull cup up to the side of Mahakala’s face. The couple is seated on a corpse and surrounded by various lamas, divinities and mortal figures. This painting was created for the Lang monastery in Dolpo, in northwestern Nepal. Dolpo is located in an isolated valley high in the Himalayan mountains, where Tibetan culture has been preserved.
Details
- Title: Mahakala with Retinue and Lamas
- Date: c. 1470
- Medium: Opaque watercolor on cotton
- Dimensions: 18 x 14-1/4 in. (45.7 x 36.2 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1983.26.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Divine Demons: Wrathful Deities of Buddhist Art
- Norton Simon Museum, 2009-08-14 to 2010-03-08
The Universe: Creation, Constellations and the Cosmos
- Norton Simon Museum, 2001-02-04 to 2001-06-04
To Do Battle: Conflict, Struggle, and Symbol in Art
- Norton Simon Museum, 2002-03-08 to 2002-07-08
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 2: Art from the Himalayas & China, 2003, no. 143 pp. 20, 142, 212-213
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 891 p. 348
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