Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Mahasiddha Ghantapa and the Great Flood
(India, Nepal, and Tibet)
The legendary Buddhist sage (mahasiddha) Ghantapa created a flood in order to teach a lesson to a king. But the flood threatened the lives of innocent bystanders, and so Ghantapa told them to pray to Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Avalokiteshvara dispatched a statue of himself-or perhaps an actual incarnation, judging from the way he is shown at lower right, his arm raised to halt the raging floodwaters. Ghantapa, who has the power to fly, holds his female partner as well as two ritual instruments, a bell and a vajra. He is watched over by the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjushri, depicted in a circle.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Sonan Tashi [Tibetan dealer], Hong Kong [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, August 1, 1995, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2008, by gift.
Exhibitions
| 2009-2010 | Patron and Painter: Situ Panchen and the Encampment Style. Rubin Museum of Art, New York; Freer Gallery of Art, Washington. |
| 2001-2003 | Desire and Devotion: Art from India, Nepal, and Tibet in the John and Berthe Ford Collection. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque; Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham; Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong. |
Geographies
Tibet, Kham (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H overall with fabric border: 29 1/8 x W: 19 1/8 in. (74 x 48.5 cm); Image H: 19 1/8 x W: 12 7/8 in. (48.5 x 32.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2008
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.
35.303