Measuring approximately 16.5 inches high and 16 inches wide, this gilt copper sculpture of Bhairava—a manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva, revered by Hindus and Buddhists alike—was probably used in ritual worship in Nepal. The 15th—16th-century C.E. sculpture has three heads, each wearing a crown decorated with human skulls, and six hands brandishing five weapons and one lotus flower. Bhairava is depicted with snakes draped about his body, a tiger skin loincloth, and an apron of human bones.
Bhairava (Sanskrit for “frightful”) is the destroyer of evil and the protective deity of the city Kathmandu. He is still celebrated today during the Indra-Jatra festival, which takes place in the city in early fall.
This striking sculpture is housed in the Freer and Sackler Galleries in Washington, D.C.
Measuring approximately 16.5 inches high and 16 inches wide, this gilt copper sculpture of Bhairava—a manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva, revered by Hindus and Buddhists alike—was probably used in ritual worship in Nepal. The 15th—16th-century C.E. sculpture has three heads, each wearing a crown decorated with human skulls, and six hands brandishing five weapons and one lotus flower. Bhairava is depicted with snakes draped about his body, a tiger skin loincloth, and an apron of human bones. Bhairava (Sanskrit for “frightful”) is the destroyer of evil and the protective deity of the city Kathmandu. He is still celebrated […]
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