Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Yogi
(India, Nepal, and Tibet)
This figure represents a yogi wearing his yogic band over his left shoulder. Like a divinity he sits on a lotus in the heroic "virasana" posture. In his lap he holds a skull cup revealing his role as a tantric teacher. This posture and iconography is common to Pala sculpture of the 11th and 12th centuries.
It is likely that this figure represents a mahasiddha, a tantric teacher revered for having achieved "siddhi," or perfections. A group of eighty-four mahasiddhas was revered by both Hindus and Buddhists. Two of them, Matsyendranatha and Gorakhnatha became the foci of cults in Nepal. This figure was likely part of a 12th-century altar devoted to one of these mahasiddhas. It evidently was revered for quite some time as the rubbing associated with devotional practice has rendered its surface features quite muted.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Gantan Shaka, Kathmandu, Nepal; John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, Winter 1974, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2007, by gift.
Exhibitions
| 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
Nepal (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 4 5/16 × W: 3 9/16 × D: 2 13/16 in. (11 × 9 × 7.1 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2007
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.
54.3032