Item: Miscellaneous - Offerings
| Origin Location | Tibet |
|---|---|
| Date Range | 1800 - 1899 |
| Lineages | Gelug and Buddhist |
| Material | Ground Mineral Pigment, Black Background on Silk |
| Collection | Rubin Museum of Art |
Classification: Object/Concept
Wrathful Offerings (Tibetan: kang dze) to the Six-handed Great Black One (Tib.: gon po chag drug pa. Sanskrit: Shadbhuja Mahakala). Displaying all the wrathful hand objects, vestments, attire and offerings that are special to Mahakala.
Tibetan: Kang dze
At the top center is the fierce meditational deity Vajrabhairava. At the left is Shadbhuja Mahakala with one face and six hands. At the right is Chaturbhuja Mahakala with one face and four hands. In the middle below those is the circle representing the Indian Buddhist world system, Mount Sumeru and the four continents. Surrounding the world sphere are eight small circles containg the Eight Auspicious Symbols. At the sides and below are wrathful offerings of weapons, skullcups filled with offerings, animal skins and hides, along with various musical instruments. At the lower center is the Chinese god of war, Guan Yu surrounded on both sides by black horses, dogs and sheep.
These types of paintings would commonly hang in the smaller Protector temples of monasteries and represent an offering of all the symbols of a specific deity.
Jeff Watt 3-2004
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art (RMA): Main Page
Subject: Kangdze & Mount Sumeru
Subject: Offerings (Miscellaneous Paintings)
Subject: Offerings Main Page
Subject: Mount Sumeru Main Page
Mahakala: Shadbhuja (Offering Paintings)
Subject: Offering Paintings (Kangdze) Page