Creative Commons License
Stand for a Ritual Conch Shell
(Southeast Asia )
A conch shell-either real (with metal fittings) or made of bronze-held sacred water that could be poured over an image or a person. The central deity on the stand is Hevajra, who is a mystical saying given bodily form: "Hail vajra!" or "Hail, cudgel that is the symbol of ultimate wisdom!" Tantric Buddhists believed that enlightenment could be reached by processes of mental concentration that focused in turn on Hevajra, on the female figures beside him, and on the Hindu gods (symbolizing conquered passions) on whom he dances.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
New Road, Bangkok, prior to August 1949; Alexander B. Griswold, Monkton, August 1949, by purchase [presented to the Breezewood Foundation, November 1956, inv. no. 422]; Walters Art Museum, 1979, by gift.
Exhibitions
| 1995 | Unearthly Elegance: Buddhist Art from the Griswold Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Cambodia (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 4 3/4 × W: 4 7/16 × D: 3 1/8 in. (12.1 × 11.3 × 7.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Breezewood Foundation, 1979
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
54.2536