Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Chakrasamvara Embracing Vajravarahi
Flames encircle two deities who wrap their naked bodies around one another. The alluring forms of their erogenous parts are delicately drawn in sweeping calligraphic lines accentuated with washes of red.
Through the passionate embrace of the wrathful male Buddha Chakrasamvara and his female partner, Vajravarahi, male and female natures are merged. Vajravarahi holds a curved knife that severs and strips away the layers of ignorance that cloud the unenlightened mind. Viewers of this portable scroll painting might imagine Vajravarahi coming to their aid to combat their own ignorance and strip away dark feelings of fear, envy, and anger.
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.
Stuart Perrin, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; purchased by John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, March 25 1984.
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
Tibet
(Place of Origin)
China (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 29 3/8 x W: 11 1/4 in. (74.6 x 28.6 cm); Framed H: 41 1/2 × W: 22 13/16 × D: 1 3/4 in. (105.41 × 57.94 × 4.45 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2022
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.
35.332