Creative Commons License
Head of Bhairava
(India, Nepal, and Tibet)
This hollow, mask-like head, carved and finished only in the front, is a typical Newar creation. Although it represents Bhairava, such heads (without a body) are used in bacchanalian rituals during the annual festival devoted to the god Indra. The festival of Indra, a deity of Vedic origin, was once extensively popular across the subcontinent, but seems to have survived only in Nepal.
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.
John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 2009, 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: 30 x W: 28 1/2 in. (76.2 x 72.4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2009
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.
61.359