About this artwork
This horizontal scroll (bilampo) from Nepal features three dancing Buddhist deities framed within aureoles and interspersed with flowers. The white multi-armed goddess at the center is the largest and most powerful figure and is probably White Tara (the Savioress); she has a third eye and holds a lotus in each of her 18 hands. The goddess is flanked by two bird-headed female attendants, one blue and one green, each wearing a necklace of human skulls and trampling a nude male figure (a symbol of ignorance). These are probably dakinis, tantric sky dancers who play a supportive role helping humans to overcome ignorance. This type of banner was and still is displayed outdoors, often on the walls of a temple, during festivals.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Arts of Asia
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Title
- Tantric Temple Banner of a Dancing Goddess Flanked by Dakinis
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Place
- Nepal (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1601–1700
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Medium
- Pigments and black ink on cloth
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Dimensions
- 124.5 × 231.1 cm (49 × 91 in.)
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Credit Line
- James W. and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection
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Reference Number
- 1984.1503
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/109571/manifest.json