Ask the Scholar

Document scope · 7 pages
obj
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

This blue god of ferocious form and ten arms is Bhairava, the angry manifestation of Shiva. In Nepal, he is popular with both Hindus and Buddhists and is also known as Mahakala. His posture is somewhere in between the militant "pratyalidha" posture of Bhairava and the bent-kneed posture of Mahakala. His stretched left leg is sufficiently bent to balance his spouse on the thigh, while the right presses down on his mount, who is the man ("nara"). Nine of his ten arms radiate symmetrically on either side, except one that holds the skull cup against his chest. The others hold various weapons and emblems. By contrast, his spouse only has two arms and sits in the graceful "lalitasana" posture, although not too comfortably. Her dangling left leg rests on her lion mount. The right hand displays the gesture of charity and the left holds a skull cup.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
39014
label
Bhairava with Goddess
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
7
Source metadata
id
39014
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Bhairava with Goddess
description
This blue god of ferocious form and ten arms is Bhairava, the angry manifestation of Shiva. In Nepal, he is popular with both Hindus and Buddhists and is also known as Mahakala. His posture is somewhere in between the militant "pratyalidha" posture of Bhairava and the bent-kneed posture of Mahakala. His stretched left leg is sufficiently bent to balance his spouse on the thigh, while the right presses down on his mount, who is the man ("nara"). Nine of his ten arms radiate symmetrically on either side, except one that holds the skull cup against his chest. The others hold various weapons and emblems. By contrast, his spouse only has two arms and sits in the graceful "lalitasana" posture, although not too comfortably. Her dangling left leg rests on her lion mount. The right hand displays the gesture of charity and the left holds a skull cup.
provenance
de Sedley Gallery, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, October 1965, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2006, by gift.
date
18th century
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Metal
sculpture (visual works)
imageCount
7
pageCount
7
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
25.3
height
16.5
depth
9.2
dimensionsRaw
H: 9 15/16 × W: 6 1/2 × D: 3 5/8 in. (25.3 × 16.51 × 9.21 cm)
Source extras
med
gilded copper alloy, lapis lazuli, opal, coral, turquoise
creator_ids
15526
collection_ids
INT
exhibition_ids
973
2071
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
c411a4d3a0c52ee8
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
d39d0abc7ca01529
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
fd63b0eb19b214d8
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
64d6e370d2c5fe86
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
5
type
photo
mediaId
8f48b3da485d07f7
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
6
type
photo
mediaId
410564b6788faed1
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
7
type
photo
mediaId
d311727c5c5f3109
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no