id: 144283
accession number: 1969.120
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.120
updated: 2023-08-23 22:12:02.859000
Hevajra and Consort, 1600s. Tibet, 17th century. Gilt bronze inlaid with semi-precious stones; overall: 18.4 cm (7 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection 1969.120
title: Hevajra and Consort
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: 1600s
creation date earliest: 1600
creation date latest: 1700
current location: 237 Himalayan
creditline: The Norweb Collection
copyright:
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culture: Tibet, 17th century
technique: gilt bronze inlaid with semi-precious stones
department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection: Tibetan Art
type: Sculpture
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
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measurements: Overall: 18.4 cm (7 1/4 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Year in Review: 1969
opening date: 1970-01-27T05:00:00
Year in Review: 1969. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 27-February 22, 1970).
title: Focus: Tantra in Buddhist Art
opening date: 2013-05-05T00:00:00
Focus: Tantra in Buddhist Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 5-September 15, 2013).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* The Cleveland Museum of Art (05/05/2013 - 09/15/2013); "Focus:Tantra in Buddhist Art"
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PROVENANCE
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fun fact:
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wall description:
The use of this piece in a ritual context would have indicated that practitioners were following the methods for reaching enlightenment set forth in the Hevajra Tantra text. Nairatmya, the female consort of Hevajra, appeared to the yogi Virupa (at left) in a vision and revealed to him the contents of the text, which was then passed down through a lineage of disciples.
An emanation of Akshobhya, the Cosmic Buddha of the East, Hevajra holds a skull bowl in his 16 hands. The rear pair of Hevajra's four legs is shown in a dynamic dance posture, while his front two legs are in a lunge, trampling the miserable personifications of ignorance and the false sense of ego. Also trampling them is the left foot of his consort Nairatmya, who has her other leg wrapped around his waist. The figures are explicitly shown in sexual union, indicative of the bliss that comes from conquering all impediments to enlightenment.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.120/1969.120_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.120/1969.120_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1969.120/1969.120_full.tif