Los Angeles County Museum of Art
September 14, 2014 - October 03, 2015

Curator: Stephen Markel, Senior Research Curator, South and Southeast Asian Art, LACMA

This exhibition is dedicated to the late Ruth Sutherlin Hayward, the pioneer collector and principal donor of the Tibetan furniture now in LACMA’s collection.

Skullcups, thunderbolts, flaying knives, conch shells, and many other evocative works of art in this exhibition were created for use during esoteric ceremonies performed to obtain mundane blessings, such as those to attain wealth or avert calamities, or to overcome negative spiritual forces hindering enlightenment. Examples include Tibetan religious paintings (thangka), illuminated manuscripts, and furniture, all depicting myriad ritual objects and symbolic offerings to the Buddhist protective deities known as the dharmapala, who are believed to defend and foster Buddhism.

The selection of works on view also highlights special offering cabinets (torgam) that protect offering cakes (torma) made of yak butter and roasted barley flour dough. Such cabinets are embellished with auspicious symbols and gruesome motifs emblematic of the particular protective deity being invoked.

(click on small images for large images with captions)

INTRODUCTION

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