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Mahakala as Panjaranatha
Ming
late 15th century
Medium/Technique
Distemper on cotton, mounted with silk brocade.
Dimensions
Overall: 190.1 × 120 cm (74 13/16 × 47 1/4 in.)
Image: 128 × 99.2 cm (50 3/8 × 39 1/16 in.)
Framed: 205.1 × 135.9 × 7.6 cm (80 3/4 × 53 1/2 × 3 in.)
Image: 128 × 99.2 cm (50 3/8 × 39 1/16 in.)
Framed: 205.1 × 135.9 × 7.6 cm (80 3/4 × 53 1/2 × 3 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number12.47
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPaintings
Catalogue Raisonné
Buddhist Arts of Asia: 33 , pg.104-105
DescriptionPainting with decorative borders, mounted on support panel. Would have originally been in thangka format.
Standing on a prostrate corpse, Panjaranatha or Great Vajra Black One, is a special protector of the Hevajra cycle of teachings. Here, Panjaranatha is seen encircled by flames, in which appear jackals, crows, dogs, and other denizens of the cemeteries which he inhabits.
Standing on a prostrate corpse, Panjaranatha or Great Vajra Black One, is a special protector of the Hevajra cycle of teachings. Here, Panjaranatha is seen encircled by flames, in which appear jackals, crows, dogs, and other denizens of the cemeteries which he inhabits.
Provenance1912, William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850 - d. 1926), Boston, MA; 1912, gift of Bigelow to the MFA. (Accession Date, February 1,1912)