Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 5 pages
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
Shaped like the upper portion of a human skull, this metal vessel was made for tantric Buddhist rituals involving the use of a skull cup to prepare and consume a sacred liquid identified with the nectar of enlightened bliss. Three feet in the form of skulls support the vessel; they relate to the imagery visualized during the preparation of the nectar, in which the cup sits upon a triangular fire with a head at each corner. Three more heads mark the rim of the vessel, a Newar convention. A Nepalese inscription around the body of the cup records its consecration in the year Samvat 524 (1404 C.E.) in honor Chakrasamvara, a wrathful male deity who would be invoked during the cup’s ritual use.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
15399
label
Vessel in the Form of a Skull Cup
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
5
Source metadata
id
15399
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Vessel in the Form of a Skull Cup
description
Shaped like the upper portion of a human skull, this metal vessel was made for tantric Buddhist rituals involving the use of a skull cup to prepare and consume a sacred liquid identified with the nectar of enlightened bliss. Three feet in the form of skulls support the vessel; they relate to the imagery visualized during the preparation of the nectar, in which the cup sits upon a triangular fire with a head at each corner. Three more heads mark the rim of the vessel, a Newar convention. A Nepalese inscription around the body of the cup records its consecration in the year Samvat 524 (1404 C.E.) in honor Chakrasamvara, a wrathful male deity who would be invoked during the cup’s ritual use.
provenance
Acquired by Ian Alsop; purchased by John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, June 10 1970; given to Walters Art Museum, 2016.
date
1404
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
cups (drinking vessels)
imageCount
5
pageCount
5
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
7.8
height
12.8
depth
9.1
dimensionsRaw
H: 3 1/16 × W: 5 1/16 × D: 3 9/16 in. (7.8 × 12.8 × 9.1 cm)
Source extras
inscriptions
[Date] samvat 524; [Date] 1404; [Inscription] Partially illegible: ...consecrated in honor of Shakrasamvara and...
med
copper alloy
creator_ids
15526
collection_ids
INT
exhibition_ids
3456
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
fa8b1ab7e30f5049
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
5d046abc6c4db754
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
6027af752e8bd30d
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
e91fe1890b7900fe
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
5
type
photo
mediaId
0c37771af4d95776
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no