Four Vajra-Deities

COLLECTION NAME:

The AMICA Library

mediaCollectionId

AMICO~1~1

The AMICA Library

Collection

true

AMICA ID:

ASIA.1979.087.1-4

amicoid

ASIA.1979.087.1-4

AMICA ID

false

AMICA Library Year:

1998

aly

1998

AMICA Library Year

false

Object Type:

Sculpture

oty

Sculpture

Object Type

false

Creator Nationality:

Asian; Southeast Asian; Indonesian

crc

Asian; Southeast Asian; Indonesian

Creator Nationality

false

Creator Name-CRT:

Indonesian

crt

Indonesian

Creator Name-CRT

false

Title:

Four Vajra-Deities

otn

Four Vajra-Deities

Title

false

View:

Full view

rid

Full view

View

false

Creation Date:

late 10th-early 11th century

oct

late 10th-early 11th century

Creation Date

false

Creation Start Date:

966

ocs

966

Creation Start Date

false

Creation End Date:

1033

oce

1033

Creation End Date

false

Materials and Techniques:

Copper alloy

omd

Copper alloy

Materials and Techniques

false

Classification Term:

Bronzes

clt

Bronzes

Classification Term

false

Creation Place:

Indonesia, East Java, Nganjuk, Chandi Reja

ocp

Indonesia, East Java, Nganjuk, Chandi Reja

Creation Place

false

Dimensions:

Each approx. H. 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm)

met

Each approx. H. 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm)

Dimensions

false

AMICA Contributor:

Asia Society

oon

Asia Society

AMICA Contributor

false

Owner Location:

New York, New York, USA

oop

New York, New York, USA

Owner Location

false

ID Number:

1979.087.1-4

ooa

1979.087.1-4

ID Number

false

Credit Line:

Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection

ooc

Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection

Credit Line

false

Rights:

http://www.asiasociety.org

orl

<a href="http://www.asiasociety.org"target="_new">http://www.asiasociety.org</a>

Rights

false

Context:

These four bronze vajra deities, discovered in 1913 in the village of Chandi Reja, Nganjuk, in East Java, illustrate the importance of Esoteric Buddhism in Java. The figures were once part of a larger set of perhaps as many as ninety sculptures that formed a three-dimensional mandala, or cosmic diagram. While the precise textual basis for the arrangement of the entire Nganjuk group has not been established, scholars generally agree that these sculptures, which are now scattered in collections around the world, were part of a Diamond Realm or Vajradhatu mandala. The transcendent Buddha Vairochana is the central diety of the Diamond Realm. In Esoteric Buddhist thought, mastery of both the Diamond Realm, which symbolizes wisdom, and the Womb Realm (Garbhadhatu), which symbolizes practice, is necessary to achieve enlightenment. The small size of these figures and their iconography suggest that they were placed in the outer rings of the mandala, where they functioned as attendants and guardians for the more important deities in the inner part of the mandala.

Although the sculptures from the Nganjuk mandala were the first of this type to be discovered, other examples have been found over the last fifty years. A stunning set that can be dated to the early 10th century was excavated in 1976 in Bantul to the southwest of Yogyakarta, and additional single examples dating from the 10th and 11th centuries are in many public and private collections worldwide. The plentifulness of these small statues attests to the importance of the creation of such three-dimensional mandalas in the Buddhism practiced in East Java. The figures' slenderness and their elaborate jewelry are characteristic of sculptures made in East Java during the late 10th and early 11th centuries.

cxd

These four bronze <I>vajra</I> deities, discovered in 1913 in the village of Chandi Reja, Nganjuk, in East Java, illustrate the importance of Esoteric Buddhism in Java. The figures were once part of a larger set of perhaps as many as ninety sculptures that formed a three-dimensional mandala, or cosmic diagram. While the precise textual basis for the arrangement of the entire Nganjuk group has not been established, scholars generally agree that these sculptures, which are now scattered in collections around the world, were part of a Diamond Realm or Vajradhatu mandala. The transcendent Buddha Vairochana is the central diety of the Diamond Realm. In Esoteric Buddhist thought, mastery of both the Diamond Realm, which symbolizes wisdom, and the Womb Realm (Garbhadhatu), which symbolizes practice, is necessary to achieve enlightenment. The small size of these figures and their iconography suggest that they were placed in the outer rings of the mandala, where they functioned as attendants and guardians for the more important deities in the inner part of the mandala.<P>Although the sculptures from the Nganjuk mandala were the first of this type to be discovered, other examples have been found over the last fifty years. A stunning set that can be dated to the early 10th century was excavated in 1976 in Bantul to the southwest of Yogyakarta, and additional single examples dating from the 10th and 11th centuries are in many public and private collections worldwide. The plentifulness of these small statues attests to the importance of the creation of such three-dimensional mandalas in the Buddhism practiced in East Java. The figures' slenderness and their elaborate jewelry are characteristic of sculptures made in East Java during the late 10th and early 11th centuries.</P>

Context

false

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Four Vajra-Deities