Artwork Details

Title
Raven-headed Mahakala
Dimensions
29 × 21 1/4 in. (estimate)
Medium
Pigments on cloth
Origin
Bhutan
Classification(s)
paintings
Date
early to mid-19th century
Credit Line
Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art
Object number
C2006.42.8
Bibliography
Faith and Empire: Art and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism
HAR Number
89189
Published references
* Christian Luczanits and Dorji Namgyel. "What is Bhutanese about Paintings from Bhutan?" MARG June 2015: Fig. 7; Pp. 93-94, 96-97. Print.* Sotheby's, The Jucker Collection of Himalayan Paintings. New York: March 28, 2006. Lot 119* Hugo E. Kreijger, Tibetan Painting, The Jucker Collection Boston: Shambhala, 2001. p. 146, no. 57* "Bhutanese Thangka studies by Dorji Namgyel" (unpublished), pp. 83-86* Debreczeny, Karl. Faith and Empire: Art and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism. New York: Rubin Museum of Art, 2019. Fig. 8.3, pp. 26, 30, 175-177

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Ritual

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Prescribed practices that carry symbolic meaning and value within a specific tradition and are intended to attain a desired outcome. Rituals are usually done as part of a ceremony or regular routine.

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Protectors of Buddhist teachings who destroy obstacles that impede the path to enlightenment. The more frightening and gruesome their appearance, the greater their power.

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Bhutan

Region

Bhutan’s earliest Buddhist temples were built in the 7th century, around the same time Buddhism was introduced in Tibet. In the 17th century, Mongol-backed Geluk authorities drove many Kagyu teachers from Tibet to Bhutanese areas. The Drukpa Kagyu teacher Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (1594–1651) unified these regions and established a system of government.

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