Artwork Details

Title
Six-armed Mahakala
Dimensions
12 1/4 × 8 7/8 × 5 3/8 in.
Medium
Copper alloy with pigments
Origin
Tibet
Classification(s)
sculpture
Date
14th century
Credit Line
Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin
Object number
C2006.66.59
HAR Number
700065
Published references
*Linrothe, Rob, and Jeff Watt, Demonic Divine: Himalayan Art and Beyond. New York: Rubin Museum of Art, Serindia Publications, 2004. No. 28, p. 163.

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Ritual

Concepts

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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Power

Concepts

A kind of energy that can be used, individually and collectively, to effect change.

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Wrathful Deities

Figure Type

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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Tibetan Regions

Region

Today, Tibetans primarily inhabit the Tibetan Plateau, situated between the Himalayan mountain range and the Indian subcontinent to the west, Chinese cultural regions to the east, and Mongolian cultural regions to the northeast. During the 7th to 9th century, Tibetan rulers expanded their empire across Central Asia, and established Buddhism as the state religion.

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