id: 149447
accession number: 1978.9.2
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1978.9.2
updated: 2022-02-24 10:00:20.726000
Ritual Mace, early 1400s. Sino-Tibetan, Derge School, Yongle period (1403-1427). Iron alloy with gold inlay; overall: 38.5 cm (15 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1978.9.2
title: Ritual Mace
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: early 1400s
creation date earliest: 1400
creation date latest: 1425
current location:
creditline: John L. Severance Fund
copyright:
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culture: Sino-Tibetan, Derge School, Yongle period (1403-1427)
technique: iron alloy with gold inlay
department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection: Tibetan Art
type: Metalwork
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
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measurements: Overall: 38.5 cm (15 3/16 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art
opening date: 2003-10-05T00:00:00
The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (organizer) (October 5, 2003-January 11, 2004); Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH (February 8-May 9, 2004).
title: Defining Yongle: Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China
opening date: 2005-04-01T00:00:00
Defining Yongle: Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (April 1-July 10, 2005).
title: Focus: Tantra in Buddhist Art
opening date: 2013-05-05T00:00:00
Focus: Tantra in Buddhist Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 5-September 15, 2013).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* Los Angeles County Museum of Art (10/5/2003 - 1/11/2004) and Columbus Museum of Art (2/8/2004 - 5/9/2004): "The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditaional Art," exh. cat. no. 108, p. 366-367.
Metropolitan Museum of Art (4/1/2005-7/10/2005): "Defining Yongle: Imperial Art in Fifteenth-Century China"
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:
digital description:
wall description:
Ceremonial weaponry was used in tantric rituals to combat obstacles to enlightenment, such as ignorance and uncontrolled passions. In 1407 a high-ranking Tibetan monastic patriarch visited the emperor of the Ming dynasty, known as Yongle. The Yongle emperor presented him with a number of gifts, of which the axe, mace, flaying knife, incense burner (1983.154), and the gilt bronze Virupa (1972.96) appear to have been a part, since the sculpture and the axe bear his identifying inscription in a cartouche. Imperial Chinese workmanship is noted in the lush rendering of the lion heads from which the blades emerge, the calligraphic serpentine forms, and the cloud motifs.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Huntington, John C., Dina Bangdel, and Robert A. F. Thurman. The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art. Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2003.
page number: 366-369
url:
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1978.9.2/1978.9.2_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1978.9.2/1978.9.2_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1978.9.2/1978.9.2_full.tif