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Source Description
A conch shell-either real (with metal fittings) or made of bronze-held sacred water that could be poured over an image or a person. The central deity on the stand is Hevajra, who is a mystical saying given bodily form: "Hail vajra!" or "Hail, cudgel that is the symbol of ultimate wisdom!" Tantric Buddhists believed that enlightenment could be reached by processes of mental concentration that focused in turn on Hevajra, on the female figures beside him, and on the Hindu gods (symbolizing conquered passions) on whom he dances.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
11852
label
Stand for a Ritual Conch Shell
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
11852
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Stand for a Ritual Conch Shell
description
A conch shell-either real (with metal fittings) or made of bronze-held sacred water that could be poured over an image or a person. The central deity on the stand is Hevajra, who is a mystical saying given bodily form: "Hail vajra!" or "Hail, cudgel that is the symbol of ultimate wisdom!" Tantric Buddhists believed that enlightenment could be reached by processes of mental concentration that focused in turn on Hevajra, on the female figures beside him, and on the Hindu gods (symbolizing conquered passions) on whom he dances.
provenance
New Road, Bangkok, prior to August 1949; Alexander B. Griswold, Monkton, August 1949, by purchase [presented to the Breezewood Foundation, November 1956, inv. no. 422]; Walters Art Museum, 1979, by gift.
date
12th century
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Metal
sculpture (visual works)
stands
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
12.1
height
11.3
depth
7.9
dimensionsRaw
H: 4 3/4 × W: 4 7/16 × D: 3 1/8 in. (12.1 × 11.3 × 7.9 cm)
Source extras
cul
Thai
med
bronze
creator_ids
2147
collection_ids
SEA
exhibition_ids
945
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
67a2b4392abff862