Collection Online as of September 24, 2023

(1403-1424)

Gilt bronze with silver, stones, and pigment

Gift of Mary B. Lee, C. Bingham Blossom, Dudley S. Blossom III, Laurel B. Kovacik, and Elizabeth B. Blossom, in memory of Elizabeth B. Blossom 1972.96

Location

237 Himalayan

Fun Fact

Virupa's clothing and jewelry are embellished with silver and stones, while pigments enhance his hair and eyes.

Description

Virupa is one of the great teachers in the history of tantric Buddhism. His posture references his ability to stop the sun; as an enlightened being, he can control phenomena of nature. As a tantric practitioner, he overturns ordinary assumptions about proper behavior, so he overeats, drinks large quantities of liquor, and waits for the king to pay his bill at the tavern.

At the edge of the lotus pedestal is an inscription identifying the image as having been made in the imperial kilns of the third emperor of the Ming dynasty in China as a gift to a Tibetan monastic leader. While closely linked to Tibetan styles, the luxurious detailing, special gilding process, and the casting of the ornaments onto the body without use of inlay are specifically Chinese characteristics.

Provenance

?–1965

Purchased from an Indian dealer in Kathmandu, Nepal

1965–1972

(J. J. Klejman Gallery, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1972–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Schroeder, Ulrich von. Indo-Tibetan Bronzes. Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, 1981. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 146B, p. 520

Guo li gu gong bo wu yuan 國立故宮博物院. Hai wai yi zhen. fo xiang [海外遺珎. 佛像 = Chinese art in overseas collections. Buddhist sculpture]. Taibei Shi: Guo li gu gong bo wu yuan, 1990. Reproduced: p. 196

"1992 Annual Report." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 6 (1993): 215-95. Mentioned: p. 247 www.jstor.org

Rhie, Marylin M., Robert A. F. Thurman, and John Bigelow Taylor. Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet. New York: Tibet House New York in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 1996. Abb. 197 (67b), p. 444

Fisher, Robert E. Art of Tibet. London; New York: Thames and Hudson, 1997. Mentioned and Reproduced: fig. 156, pp. 186–187

Davidson, Ronald M. Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. Reproduced: p. 185, fig. 10

Stoddard, Heather. Early Sino-Tibetan Art. Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2008. Reproduced: p. 87, fig. 63

Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 53 no. 03, May/June 2013 Mentioned and reproduced:p. 4 archive.org

Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 221

Huntington, John C., Dina Bangdel, and Robert A. F. Thurman. The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art. Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2003. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 141–142, cat. no. 28

Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1972. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 27-March 18, 1973).

Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet. Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (September 18-December 13, 1992).

Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet. Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany (May 1-August 31, 1996); Fundació "la Caixa", Barcelona, Spain (October 1, 1996-January 12, 1997).

Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet. Dr. Sun-Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, Taipei (January 16-May 1, 1998).

The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (organizer) (October 5, 2003-January 11, 2004); Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH (February 8-May 9, 2004).

Focus: Tantra in Buddhist Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 5-September 15, 2013).

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Virupa

China, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Yongle reign

Location

Fun Fact

Description