Indian and Himalayan Art Chen Chog Heruka and Spirits of the Bardo Made in Mongolia, Asiaor Tibet, Asia Nyingma, 19th century Artist/maker unknown, Mongolian or Tibetan Colors on cloth; cloth mountings Currently not on view 1967-246-2 Bequest of Natacha Rambova, 1967 |
LabelUnique to Tibetan Buddhism is the Bardo, the space where a deceased person's spirit experiences the stages of death and rebirth during a forty-nine-day period. Seen here are wrathful deities who emanate from the deceased's brain on the eighth through fourteenth days. (Peaceful deities radiate from the heart and throat during the first seven days.) This painting is intended to prepare devotees to brave these frights in the Bardo. The geometric organization of the figures indicates the sequential introduction of the deities by time (which day), space (the direction they come from, i.e., east, south, west, or north), and rank. |
