Crowns of the Vajra Masters: Ritual Art of Nepal

Interior of a Book Cover: Manjuvajra Embracing His Consort, with Attendant Lamas
Tibet, late 13th century
Distemper on wood
16 3/4 x 5 5/8 in. (42.5 x 14.3 cm)

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund and Louis V. Bell Fund, 1998
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998.75

Paintings on the interiors of book covers consecrate and protect the sacred texts within. The deity Manjuvajra is an esoteric expression of the wisdom bodhisattva Manjushri and is seen here in a sexual embrace with one of the wisdom goddesses, or Vidyadharas. They wield identical weapons to drive away impediments to spiritual awakening. Meditations on Manjuvajra serve to enhance understanding and intelligence, necessary tools on the path to wisdom and enlightenment.

Exhibition History
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet," October 6, 1998–January 17, 1999.

Zurich. Museum Rietberg. "Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet," February 14, 1999–May 16, 1999.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Sacred Traditions of the Himalayas," December 20, 2014–June 14, 2015.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Arts of Nepal and Tibet: Recent Gifts," January 16, 2016–January 15, 2017.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Crowns of the Vajra Masters: Ritual Art of Nepal," December 16, 2017–December 16, 2018.