Vajrapani Embroidered Mount with Garuda
painting 1600s, embroidery c. 1300
Medium
Opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on silk
Dimensions
114.6 × 44.5 cm
Classification
Embroidery
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1989.11.a
Tags
About this artwork
The painting depicts the Buddhist protector who holds (pani) the thunder bolt (vajra) in his right hand. He kneels in reverence and holds his left hand in a gesture of salute. This unusual image appears to have been the vision of a Tibetan monastic patriarch known for creating his own inventive paintings and sculptures. Sewn to the painting are Chinese damask borders and rare embroideries dating to the Chinese Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). They depict man-eagle figures known as Garuda, a form occasi...