Mahasiddha Virupa thumbnail 1
Mahasiddha Virupa thumbnail 2
+45
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Buddhism, Room 17, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Galleries of Buddhist Art

Mahasiddha Virupa

Figure
1403-1424 (Made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This figure represents the Mahasiddha, or great yogic adept Virupa, who lived in 9th century north India. Such figures lived alone or with a consort and became renowned for their unconventional lifestyles.They were revered in Tibet as enlightened beings and often feature in Tibetan lineages as the teachers of Tibetans who journeyed to India to receive Buddhist initiation.

This Virupa is one of the largest and most spectacular surviving works belonging to a group of images produced at the Chinese court during the early 15th century. Close contacts at this time between the Emperor Yongle (1403-1424), who was himself a Buddhist, and Tibetan religious leaders, led to frequent diplomatic and religious exchanges. Visiting Tibetans received similar, though usually much smaller images, which were intended to mark and cement such newly made alliances.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleMahasiddha Virupa (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Cast and gilded brass (gold leaf)
Brief description
Figure of the Mahasiddha Virupa, gilt bronze, China, Ming dynasty, reign of Yongle, 1403-24
Physical description
Gilt-brass figure of the Indian ascetic Virupa, seated on an antelope skin, with right leg bent at the knee and resting on the ground with sole upward. His left knee is raised with foot flat on the ground. Head with curly beard and moustache and with separate hair curls in the manner of a Buddha. Virupa's proper right arm is bent, his right hand with palm upwards is held at chest level. A hole in the palm indicates a now missing skull drinking cup, a feature seen on other Virupa images. The left arm is raised, bent at the elbow and the fist clenched in the gesture of holding an object (now missing). This arm has been broken and replaced from the elbow to the hand.
Dimensions
  • Total height height: 85cm
  • Width: 60cm
  • Weight: 80kg
  • Depth: 41cm
  • Figure height height: 61cm (Note: Plinth dimensions: H: 23.5 cm, W: 70 cm, D: 45 cm)
Style
Credit line
Credit line: Purchased with the support of the Robert H.N.Ho Family Foundation Collection
Object history
Formerly the property of the Holburne Museum, Bath
Subjects depicted
Summary
This figure represents the Mahasiddha, or great yogic adept Virupa, who lived in 9th century north India. Such figures lived alone or with a consort and became renowned for their unconventional lifestyles.They were revered in Tibet as enlightened beings and often feature in Tibetan lineages as the teachers of Tibetans who journeyed to India to receive Buddhist initiation.

This Virupa is one of the largest and most spectacular surviving works belonging to a group of images produced at the Chinese court during the early 15th century. Close contacts at this time between the Emperor Yongle (1403-1424), who was himself a Buddhist, and Tibetan religious leaders, led to frequent diplomatic and religious exchanges. Visiting Tibetans received similar, though usually much smaller images, which were intended to mark and cement such newly made alliances.
Bibliographic reference
Clarke; John; A new image of the Mahasiddha Virupa: a major addition to the corpus of early fifteenth-century bronzes. Art of Merit: Studies in Buddhist Art and its Conservation. Proceedings of the Buddhist Art Forum 2012. In association with The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Art and Conservation at the Courtauld Institute of Art. pp241-250 and pp.251- 262 - Diana Heath.
Collection
Accession number
IS.12:1,2-2010

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Record createdJune 30, 2010
Record URL
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