Dakini / Artist Unknown, Tibet or Nepal
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 2000/2.157
- Title
- Dakini
- Artist Nationality
- Tibetan or Nepalese
- Medium and Support
- bronze
- Object Creation Date
- 15th century
- Object Creation Place
- Asia (continent)
- China (nation)
- Tibet (autonomous region)
- Creation Place 1
- Asia (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- China (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- Tibet (autonomous region)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Michele Caplan
- Style/Group/Movement
- Buddhist
- Dimensions
- 11.6 cm x 6.3 cm x 5.5 cm (4 9/16 in. x 2 1/2 in. x 2 3/16 in.)
- Century
- 15th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Sculpture
- Primary Object Type
- casting
- Secondary Object Classification
- Ritual Objects
- Secondary Object Type
- figure
- Physical Description
- A bronze image of a dancing figure, cast in the cire perdue (lost wax) technique in one piece with its lotus-petal base.
- Subject Matter
- Tentatively identified as a dakini, a "sky walker": a popular type of goddess in Tibetan Buddhism. Dakinis are shown naked, and as in this image, usually wear a garland of skulls and carry a skull cup. In this example the goddess holds a vajra ("thunderbolt," a ritual scepter) in her upraised right hand, rather than the more usual chopper. She sways in a dance pose, bending her right knee and balancing precariously on her right foot—which crushes a tiny figure underneath. She is nakekd apart from jewelry and a long garland of skulls. The symbolism for such images is complex, but broadly speaking, dakinis represesnt the spontaneous energy of the mind stripped of delusion and defilements.
- Dakinis are a popular subject in Himalayan art.
- Primary Keywords
- buddhism
- dance
- goddess
- himalayan
- lotus
- miniature (size attribute)
- skull (skeleton component)
- vajrayana
- Secondary Keywords
- animal material
- animal material by form or function
- arts
- arts and related disciplines
- asian
- associated concepts
- attributes and properties
- attributes and properties by specific type
- descriptors
- design elements
- disciplines
- form attributes
- humanities
- materials
- materials by origin
- motifs
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by state or condition
- performing arts
- plant-derived motifs
- religions
- religions and religious concepts
- size (extent)
- size by specific type
- skeleton and skeleton components
- skeleton components
- south asian
- styles and periods
- styles and periods by region
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 988 x 1377
- File Size
- 103 KB
- Record
- 2000/2.157
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2000-sl-2.157/2000_2.157.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:2000-SL-2.157:2000_2.157.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"Dakini; Artist Unknown, Tibet or Nepal." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2000-sl-2.157/2000_2.157.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 19, 2024.
