Guru Dragpo

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Guru Dragpo, a fierce emanation of the guru-saint Padmasambhava, stands astride a flaming aureole holding a ritual tool known as the vajra and a black scorpion. The skin of a tiger is drawn around his waist while the flayed skin of an elephant is draped over his shoulders. He wears a crown adorned with skulls and a garland of severed heads. In this wrathful meditational form, Guru Dragpo was an important protector deity of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. In the upper register are depictions, from left, of Manjushri, Shadakshari Lokesvara, Amitabha, Padmasambhava, and the wrathful deity Hayagriva. In the lower register appear the ireful deities of Guru Dragpo’s retinue, including blue Vajrapani to the left and the yaksha Jambhala, god of wealth, at center.

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