Panel from a Buddhist Ritual Crown Depicting Vairocana

Panel from a Buddhist Ritual Crown Depicting Vairocana

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This panel survives from one of the finest ritual crowns of the high period of Tibetan painting. Guarding the base of Vairocana’s crown are lions which also serve as his vehicle. Vairocana, who presides over the five Transcendent Buddhas, makes the esoteric bodhyagri gesture while holding a thunderbolt (vajra) scepter in his right hand. He wears a multi-tiered crown which is broadly contemporary.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Panel from a Buddhist Ritual Crown Depicting VairocanaPanel from a Buddhist Ritual Crown Depicting VairocanaPanel from a Buddhist Ritual Crown Depicting VairocanaPanel from a Buddhist Ritual Crown Depicting VairocanaPanel from a Buddhist Ritual Crown Depicting Vairocana

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.