Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Ushnishavijaya with Stupas
(India, Nepal, and Tibet)
The Buddhist goddess Ushnishavijaya ("Crowning Victory") personifies a prayer ("dharani") recited for longevity, merit, and the benefit of all living beings. She sits within a stupa: a sacred domed structure that contains the presence of the Buddha. Dozens of miniature stupas surround her, representing the 100,000 stupas that a patron symbolically donates in one of Ushnishavijaya's rituals. The inscription near the bottom of the painting states that one Vajracharya Yakunichandra, together with Chitta (probably his wife), completed the ritual so that their sons, their daughters-in-law, and other relatives or residents of the monastery would attain supreme knowledge. Yakunichandra and his family are depicted in the lower right corner, and in the lower left, the officiating priest performs rituals. Deities and auspicious symbols occupy the center of the lower border, and Buddhas sit along the top.
Inscription
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.
Sale, Sotheby's, November 19, 1979, Lot 83, No. 4311; John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, 1979, by purchase.
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
Framed H: 52 1/4 × W: 32 13/16 × D: 2 9/16 in. (132.7 × 83.4 × 6.5 cm)
Credit Line
Promised gift of John and Berthe Ford
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.
F.139