The most popular tantric manifestation of Manjushri is Vajrabhairava. Here, he has a buffalo head, holds an array of weapons, and tramples on birds, dogs, and Hindu gods. In this form, he is sometimes called Yamantaka, or the defeater of death, a deity that ends the cycle of rebirth and provides a path to nirvana. He frightens away egotism and selfishness—the root of suffering—and in this true form reveals the awesome and terrifying nature of enlightenment. For this extraordinary embroidery, the artist employed fine silk floss to achieve brilliant gradations of color and used horsehair underneath to create three-dimensional effects. The work was likely part of a group given by the Yongle-period emperor Chengzu to a Tibetan monk who conducted Vajrayana rituals in the Chinese court in 1415–16.
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Inscription: Inscriptions on the back written on the cloth:
There are a number of inscriptions written directly on textiles used for framing the image. The exact position of the inscriptions on the textile needs to recorded, and it may well be that there are sewn over parts not visible from the photograph. None of these fragments of texts appear to belong directly together.
Across (photo 261558): ***|| ōṃsvasti| ‘ōṃ, may all be well’.
On strip, back to back to each other: In the first line of the inscription possible vowel signs above the letters are not visible, making the reading uncertain. The two strips reused here back to back to each other may well be cut from the border of of the textile of which a longer inscription is also preserved (261554-5). It would have to be checked if they are actually fitting to the sides of the text there.
Transcription (photo 261559): ? s|| lags brgyud kha ch[e]’[i] rang luṭ ? *** || ōṃsvasti| m ? ... well arranged / good lineage (legs brgyud) ... tradition (rang lugs) of Kashmir ...
Of the two inscriptions along the border of a textile, the one written on the plain edge is cut off at the beginning and is incomplete at the end. The previous fragments may belong to the same text, one of them beginning it. If they belong directly together Parts of the beginning may be still extent. The text is in verses of seven syllables.
Transcription (beginning on 261554, end on 261555): ... mkhan rgyud rnaṃs la ‘dud|| tshogs mchog ‘dus pa’[i] rgya mtsho rnaṃs|| lha rigs1 grags pa’i mtshan mchad2 pa’i || dad pa’i shugs can de nyid kyis|| ca3 bsam ‘grub pa’i ph # ... ... bowing in front of the spiritual preceptors (mkhan rgyud) and venerating the oceans of the supreme assembly with the marks of [those] known as gods. By the nature/reality of strong faith ... ... what is thought of become fulfilled ....
The other inscription along the border is directly written along the edge of the ornamented textile itself. As this textile has been reused in a way that the script is upside down the inscription does not relate to the piece as such. These are the last verses of a longer text. Transcription (beginning on photo 261556, end on 261557):
...gun chos brgrubs4 pa’i tshe | lha rjas5 gos mchog bzang po ‘dis || bkra shis ‘khyil pa’i chos dung x || # ng mad/ng cho # # kh ng bskor # # phul|| bhawan-||
... at the time when ... dharma ... has been well-accomplished/attained, the Buddha (lha rje6), with this beautiful best silk/garment is given .... the auspicious swirled/twisted (‘khyil pa) dharma-conch ....
Two parts of the same inscription in two lines are found on the bands, one of them being the beginning section. Photo 261713: ** || bla ma ta ra ko gsuṃ po gus pas mchod|| ‘gr ... pa’i gyas ‘khyil la|| bēṭu zhu ba ‘khyil ‘dra’i # ...
Photo 261713: 1. One of the three families of gods, man and nāga. 2. Read mchod? 3. Read ci. 4. Read bsgrubs? 5. rjes 6. Also: doctor, healer.
... [m]chog dge ‘dun ‘gyes pa’i gnyen skur gyis|| mi phaṃ bstan ... ... s|| smigs m/zhar sngo ‘ar byed pa gad te ni|| blo gros bkra shis ...
... by abusing the companions/relatives that are separated from the monastic community; ... of the teaching of Maitreya...
Christian Luzcanits, 5/22/2004
[ Michael K. Wörner , Frankfurt, DE, until 1993; sold to MMA]
Cleveland Museum of Art. "When Silk Was Gold," October 20, 1997–January 4, 1998.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "When Silk Was Gold," March 3, 1998–May 17, 1998.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Defining Yongle, Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China," April 1–July 10, 2005.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Textiles of the Ming Dynasty," February 11–August 2, 2009.
London. British Museum. "Ming: 50 Years that Changed China," September 18, 2014–January 5, 2015.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Sacred Traditions of the Himalayas," December 20, 2014–June 14, 2015.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Bodhisattvas of Wisdom, Compassion, and Power," March 27, 2021–October 30, 2022.
Watt, James C. Y., and Denise Patry Leidy. Defining Yongle: Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005, pp. 60, 86–87, pl. 35.
Quette, Beatrice, ed. Cloisonné: Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. Exh. cat. New York: Bard Graduate Center, 2011, p. 66, fig. 4.5.
Clunas, Craig, and Jessica Harrison-Hall, eds. Ming: 50 Years that Changed China. Exh. cat. London: British Museum Press, 2014, p. 244, fig. 210.
In celebration of the Asian Art Centennial at the Met, Associate Curator Kurt Behrendt highlights some of the sublime works of Tibetan art acquired over the past hundred years.
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