Vessel in the Form of a Skull Cup
(India, Nepal, and Tibet)
Shaped like the upper portion of a human skull, this metal vessel was made for tantric Buddhist rituals involving the use of a skull cup to prepare and consume a sacred liquid identified with the nectar of enlightened bliss. Three feet in the form of skulls support the vessel; they relate to the imagery visualized during the preparation of the nectar, in which the cup sits upon a triangular fire with a head at each corner. Three more heads mark the rim of the vessel, a Newar convention. A Nepalese inscription around the body of the cup records its consecration in the year Samvat 524 (1404 C.E.) in honor Chakrasamvara, a wrathful male deity who would be invoked during the cup’s ritual use.
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.
Acquired by Ian Alsop; purchased by John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, June 10 1970; given to Walters Art Museum, 2016.
Exhibitions
| 2016-2017 | Ferocious Beauty: Wrathful Deities from Tibet and Nepal. |
Geographies
Nepal (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 3 1/16 × W: 5 1/16 × D: 3 9/16 in. (7.8 × 12.8 × 9.1 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.
54.3107
Copyright
Artwork that is not under creative commons is subject to certain copyrights.
Artwork that is not under creative commons is subject to certain copyrights.
Under Copyright
Creative Commons License