Vajra, Bell and Case

Artwork Details

Title: Vajra, Bell and Case

Dimensions: A: Bell: 8 1/2 × 3 7/8 × 3 7/8 in. B: Vajra: 1 1/8 × 4 5/8 × 1 1/8 in.

Medium: Metal alloy (Bell and Vajra);

Origin: Bhutan

Classification(s): ritual objects

Date: 20th century

Credit Line: Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art

Object number: SC2010.8a-b

Currently On View: At the Brooklyn Museum, “Rubin Museum Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room”

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.

Artwork Details

Bhutan

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