Image title: Vajrapani (12th century)

This Bronze sculpture shows an image of a Petal of lotus mandala with Vajrapani, from the 12th/13th century origination from North-eastern India.—Materials used: Bronze, silver.

Notes: These objects represent some of the finest and earliest bronze sculptures in the Patan Museum. All depict bodhisattvas, enlightened beings. They were made in the 11th or 12th century in various regions on the periphery of Nepal. All the sculptures in this case were probably brought into Nepal by Buddhist pilgrims. Those from the Pala domain, in what is now northern India and Bangladesh, then ruled by fervent supporters of Buddhism, were very influential in shaping the Nepalese artists’ vision of divine imagery. The petal comes from a lotus mandala. It bears the image of Vajrapani as a fierce guardian protector of the central deity, the Sovereign of the Mandala, which like the rest of the mandala is now dispersed.

Gallery information:

The Patan Museum is located on the Durbar square of Patan (Lalitpur/Lalitapura, Kathmandu, Nepal) which is associated Keshav Narayan Chowk (Keshavnarayan)—a form of Lord Vishnu. Being listed as a World Heritage Site, the whole of Durbar square is filled with exquisite temples, sculptures and other ancient structures, of which the ancient history history can be traced to the Malla Kings of Lalitpur. It is an important site for both Buddhism and Hinduism.