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Kalachakra and Vishvamata
Locked in a passionate embrace, the male Buddha Kalachakra and his female partner, Vishvamata, manifest the ideal of complete enlightenment, the supreme knowledge that leads to spiritual liberation. In Buddhist thought, male deities are identified with compassionate action and intention, while female deities embody wisdom. Since the union of these qualities is essential to the enlightened state of a Buddha, the sexual union of such deities forms a powerful visual metaphor for Buddhahood. Kalachakra wears an elephant-skin cape, symbolizing the destruction of ignorance, and a tiger-skin loincloth, symbolizing the destruction of hatred. Together, the deities trample personifications of anger (holding a trident and drum) and desire (holding a bow and arrow). With arms radiating outward and faces looking in all directions, they are all-powerful and all-knowing.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Sonam Tashi, Kathmandu, Nepal; purchased by John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, July 1984; given to Walters Art Museum, 2016.
Exhibitions
| 2016-2017 | Ferocious Beauty: Wrathful Deities from Tibet and Nepal. |
| 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. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 10/28/2016 | Examination | examined for acquisition; examined for condition |
Geographies
China
(Place of Origin)
Tibet (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 16 × W: 11 1/2 × D: 8 in. (40.6 × 29.2 × 20.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2016
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.
54.3103