The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Vajrapani and Garuda

painting c. 1650; top and bottom borders c. 1350

attributed to Choying Dorje, the Tenth Black Hat Karmapa

(Tibetan, 1604–1674)
China and Tibet, Embroidery: China, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368); painting: Tibet
Painting: gum tempera, gold, and silver on silk; lateral borders: silk damask with needleloop embroidery; top and bottom panels: embroidered silk, lead, and silver paper; curtain: silk tabby; dowels: wood, rawhide, and leather
Overall: 114.6 x 44.5 cm (45 1/8 x 17 1/2 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1989.11
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Vajrapani sometimes takes the form of Garuda, enemy of snakes.

Description

The painting depicts the Buddhist protector who holds (pani) the thunder bolt (vajra) in his right hand. He kneels in reverence and holds his left hand in a gesture of salute. This unusual image appears to have been the vision of a Tibetan monastic patriarch known for creating his own inventive paintings and sculptures.

Sewn to the painting are Chinese damask borders and rare embroideries dating to the Chinese Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). They depict man-eagle figures known as Garuda, a form occasionally assumed by Vajrapani.
  • ?–1989
    (Sara Tremayne, Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1989–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • "1993 Annual Report." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 6 (1994): 143-218. Mentioned: p. 154 www.jstor.org
    Watt, James C. Y., Anne E. Wardwell, and Morris Rossabi. When silk was gold: Central Asian and Chinese textiles. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art in cooperation with the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1997. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 58, pp. 190-193
  • Himalayan Gallery 237 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 14, 2024-March 20, 2025).
    Himalayan art rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 22, 2014-November 2, 2015).
    When Silk Was Gold: Central Asian & Chinese Textiles from the Cleveland and Metropolitan Museums of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 26, 1997-January 4, 1998); The Metropolitan Museum of Art (organizer) (March 2-May 17, 1998).
    Selections from The Tibetan Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (August 23-October 24, 1993):
  • {{cite web|title=Vajrapani and Garuda|url=false|author=Choying Dorje, the Tenth Black Hat Karmapa|year=painting c. 1650; top and bottom borders c. 1350|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.11