The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of January 21, 2021

Vajrapani

700s

India, Kashmir, 8th century

Bronze with silver overlay and opaque watercolor

Overall: 22 cm (8 11/16 in.); Base: 12.8 cm (5 1/16 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1971.14

Location

not on view

Description

The name Vajrapani means “he who holds (pani) the thunderbolt (vajra)” in Sanskrit. Adopted by Buddhists as a protector not only in India and the Himalayan regions of Nepal and Tibet, Vajrapani also was incorporated into art of China, Korea, and Japan. The attributes of the thunderbolt and the club were derived from images of Zeus and Hercules that travelers from the Mediterranean world brought to the region as early as the 320s BC.

This rare, early bronze image of Vajrapani visually conveys his power to overcome fear and obstacles to enlightenment, and for this reason he is invoked by Buddhist practitioners. He sits on a pedestal in the form of a rocky mountain populated with wild lions, and he has tamed poisonous snakes to use as ornaments.

Citations
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 293 archive.org
Pal, Pratapaditya. "An Adorsed Śaiva Image from Kashmir and its Cultural Significance." Art International vol XXIV, no. 5-6 (January-February 1981): pp. 6-60. Reproduced and mentioned: fig. 24, pp. 44-45
Klimburg-Salter, Deborah E., and Maximilian Klimburg. The Silk Route and the Diamond Path: Esoteric Buddhist Art on the Trans-Himalayan Trade Routes. Los Angeles, Calif: Published under the sponsorship of the UCLA Art Council, 1982. Reproduced: p. 106, pl. 33
Debreczeny, Karl. Faith and Empire: Art and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism. New York, NY: Rubin Museum of Art, 2019. Reproduced: fig. 2.7, pp. 53, 62-63
Exhibition history

In the Footsteps of Buddha: An Iconic Journey from India to China, (Hong Kong: University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, 1998) cat. no. 30, p. 189

Art Institute of Chicago (4/5/2003 - 7/27/2003) and The Freer Gallery of Art (10/19/2003 - 1/11/2003): "Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure" exh. cat. no. 59, p. 101.

The Cleveland Museum of Art (05/05/2013 - 09/15/2013); "Focus:Tantra in Buddhist Art"

Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (1/13/2015 - 4/19/2015). Rubin Museum of Art, New York, NY (5/22/2015 - 10/19/2015): "Collecting Paradise: Buddhist Art of Kashmir and Its Legacies"

Images of Enlightenment: Gems from Buddhist Art of Asia. Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (September 26-December 15, 1998).

Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (organizer) (April 5-August 17, 2003); Smithsonian Institution Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC (October 19, 2003-January 11, 2004).

Focus: Tantra in Buddhist Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 5-September 15, 2013).

Collecting Paradise: Buddhist Art of Kashmir and Its Legacies. Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Evanston, IL (organizer) (January 13-April 19, 2015); Rubin Museum of Art, New York, NY (May 22-October 19, 2015).

Himalayan Gallery 237 Rotation – November 2016-April 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 7, 2016-April 10, 2017).

Faith and Empire: Art and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism. Rubin Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (February 1-July 15, 2019).

Source URL: https://cmaweb23-bbn-2.clevelandart.org/art/1971.14