Virupa (early 1400s): Art, History and Details

Virupa (early 1400s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Virupa is one of the great teachers in the history of tantric Buddhism. His posture references his ability to stop the sun; as an enlightened being, he can control phenomena of nature. As a tantric practitioner, he overturns ordinary assumptions about proper behavior, so he overeats, drinks large quantities of liquor, and waits for the king to pay his bill at the tavern. At the edge of the lotus pedestal is an inscription identifying the image as having been made in the imperial kilns of the third emperor of the Ming dynasty in China as a gift to a Tibetan monastic leader. While closely linked to Tibetan styles, the luxurious detailing, special gilding process, and the casting of the ornaments onto the body without use of inlay are specifically Chinese characteristics.

Object facts

• Title: Virupa
• Date: early 1400s
• Culture: China, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Yongle reign (1403-1424)
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: Gilt bronze with silver, stones, and pigment
• Dimensions: Overall: 43.6 cm (17 3/16 in.)
• Collection: China - Ming Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1972.96

A detail from the museum

Virupa's clothing and jewelry are embellished with silver and stones, while pigments enhance his hair and eyes.

Collection credit

Gift of Mary B. Lee, C. Bingham Blossom, Dudley S. Blossom III, Laurel B. Kovacik, and Elizabeth B. Blossom, in memory of Elizabeth B. Blossom

Further reading listed by the museum

• Karmay, Heather. Early Sino-Tibetan Art. Warminster: Aris and Phillips, 1975.
• Béguin, Gilles. Dieux et démons de l’Himâlaya: Art du Bouddhisme Lamaïque : [Exposition], Grand-Palais, 25 Mars-27 Juin 1977. Paris: Secrétariat d’État à la culture, Éditions des musées nationaux, 1977.
• Schroeder, Ulrich von. Indo-Tibetan Bronzes. Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, 1981.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.