Skip to Main Content

Supports with Addorsed Figures

1400s
gilt bronze
Overall: 33.5 x 9.5 x 8 cm (13 3/16 x 3 3/4 x 3 1/8 in.)
Gift of Maxeen and John Flower in honor of Dr. Stanislaw Czuma 2011.144
Location: 237 Himalayan
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Download, Print and Share

Description

These small pillars were part of the multitiered bases of stupas—sacred Buddhist monuments. The figures that faced toward the viewer are four-armed bodhisattvas—beings on the path to perfect enlightenment. The Tibetan syllable carved at the top of the moldings denotes the position where this piece belongs in the series of other small double-sided pillars. The figures on the opposite sides, facing the stupa and unseen by visitors, are figures of four-armed goddesses who make offerings of music or gifts to the stupa. On these examples, one plays a drum; the other holds a lotus.

The figures stand on the center of a lotus flower that emerges from an overflowoing pot of abundance. Such imagery indicates that the faithful veneration of this monument will bring productive and abundant good results.
Supports with Addorsed Figures

Supports with Addorsed Figures

1400s

Tibet, Densatil Monastery, 15th century

See Also

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.