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Source Description
This hollow, mask-like head, carved and finished only in the front, is a typical Newar creation. Although it represents Bhairava, such heads (without a body) are used in bacchanalian rituals during the annual festival devoted to the god Indra. The festival of Indra, a deity of Vedic origin, was once extensively popular across the subcontinent, but seems to have survived only in Nepal.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
20483
label
Head of Bhairava
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
20483
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Head of Bhairava
description
This hollow, mask-like head, carved and finished only in the front, is a typical Newar creation. Although it represents Bhairava, such heads (without a body) are used in bacchanalian rituals during the annual festival devoted to the god Indra. The festival of Indra, a deity of Vedic origin, was once extensively popular across the subcontinent, but seems to have survived only in Nepal.
provenance
John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 2009, by gift.
date
late 14th-15th century
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
sculpture (visual works)
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
76.2
height
72.4
dimensionsRaw
H: 30 x W: 28 1/2 in. (76.2 x 72.4 cm)
Source extras
med
wood with polychrome
creator_ids
15526
collection_ids
INT
exhibition_ids
2071
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
bafea4c1ca27f954