Vajradakini
c. 1200
Asia: China, Tibet
Not on View

A group of eight goddesses known as dakinis, or “sky-walkers,” play an important role in tantric or esoteric Buddhism. These female spirits are both human and divine, serving as teachers, removers of physical and spiritual obstacles and mediators between the earthly and higher levels of consciousness. Vajradakini wields a vajra, or thunderbolt, in her raised right hand. She wears leopard and tiger skins and has double strands of pearls encircling her ankles, wrists and elbows. Snakes writhe around her ample belly.

Details

  • Title: Vajradakini
  • Date: c. 1200
  • Medium: Brass inlaid with copper and silver
  • Dimensions: 4-1/2 in. (11.4 cm)
  • Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
  • Accession Number: F.1978.11.S
  • Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation

Object Information

Divine Demons: Wrathful Deities of Buddhist Art

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2009-08-14 to 2010-03-08

To Do Battle: Conflict, Struggle, and Symbol in Art

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2002-03-08 to 2002-07-08
  • Pal, Pratapaditya, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 2: Art from the Himalayas & China, 2003, no. 90 pp. 20, 138
  • Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 887 p. 348

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