Vajradhara Buddha Seated Holding a Thunderbolt (Vajra) and Bell (Ghanta)

Arts of Asia

15th century

Tibet
Southern Tibet

This silver ﬁgure, though adorned like a bodhisattva, is more likely the Buddha Vajradhara. It probably served as the center of a three-dimensional mandala. The Buddha sits in the meditation posture while holding a vajra (thunderbolt) and bell in a gesture known as vajrahumkara (the adamantine sound). Certain sects of Himalayan Buddhism consider Vajradhara the creator and supreme power. He is the originator of the Five Transcendental Buddhas and embodies shunyata (voidness).

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Asia

Title: Vajradhara Buddha Seated Holding a Thunderbolt (Vajra) and Bell (Ghanta)
Place: Southern 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.: 1401–1500
Medium: Silver and semiprecious stones
Dimensions: 16.5 × 10 × 7.6 cm (6 1/2 × 3 15/16 × 3 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf
Reference Number: 2014.1031
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/148390/manifest.json

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Vajradhara Buddha Seated Holding a Thunderbolt (Vajra) and Bell (Ghanta)

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.