Tantric Female Enlightened Being (Vajrayogini) Holding a Skull Cup

Arts of Asia

18th century

Tibet
Central Tibet

This metal image represents Vajrayogini, an important tantric goddess in Tibetan Buddhism visualized by adepts to aid them in spiritual attainment. Vajrayogini’s contorted face, bared fangs, and garland of skulls evince her fearsome nature. She wears a revealing bone skirt, holds a kapala (skull cup) in her left hand, and displays a khatvanga (scepter) behind her right shoulder. The figure’s attributes and posture accord with representations of Vajrayogini in the Naropa tradition except for the unusual rosary of human heads in her right hand, which normally holds a kartrika (flaying knife).

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Asia

Title: Tantric Female Enlightened Being (Vajrayogini) Holding a Skull Cup
Place: Tibet (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1701–1800
Medium: Silver, gilt silver, and gilt copper alloy
Dimensions: 66.1 × 46.4 × 22.9 cm (26 × 18 1/4 × 9 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf
Reference Number: 2014.1041
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/130670/manifest.json

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Tantric Female Enlightened Being (Vajrayogini) Holding a Skull Cup

Currently Off View

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.