Vajracharya Priest’s Crown

Vajracharya Priest’s Crown

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Elaborate crowns such as this were worn by Vajracarya priests, the highest rank in the Nepalese Buddhist community. The conical crown is unique to Newari Buddhism and embodies a memory of older and now lost Indian Buddhist practices. The term Vajracarya denotes both a caste and a family name, and the designation entitles its holders to perform reserved priestly functions, analogous to the privileges held by Brahmans in Hinduism. This crown is exceptional in its complexity: It is dominated by a series of diadem plaques depicting emanations of the wisdom bodhisattva Manjushri, benign and wrathful. All is surmounted by a five-pronged thunderbolt scepter, or vajra. This unique iconography points to the crown being designed for enacting rites dedicated to invoking Manjushri.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.