Head of Bhairava

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A fearsome form of the Hindu deity Shiva, the wide-eyed and fanged Bhairava embodies rage. Flames emit from his mouth, eyes, eyebrows, and chin, and his red hair appears as an aureole of fire. He wears a diadem entwined with snakes and skulls and set with large rock crystals, pendant ear ornaments of coiled snakes. A small hole that pierces the inner mouth was used during the annual Indrayatra festival to funnel beer through a drinking tube to bless eager devotees. The representation of Bhairava as an independent, masklike head is unique to the Newari metalworkers of Nepal, who were famous throughout the Himalayan world for their skills in working copper. This mask's similarity to an inscribed example dated 1560 suggests it was made in the mid-sixteenth century.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art