Vajracharya Crown (Primary Title)
Ritual Crown (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
This spectacular three-tiered crown is ornamented with images and symbols of the Five Cosmic Buddhas. These deities, who are emanations of the supreme Buddha essence (Adi-Buddha), guard the four cardinal directions plus the center. A priest known as the Vajracharya (Master of the Thunderbolt) would have worn this crown during certain ritual performances to help him identify with and assume the cosmic forces embodied by the Buddhas.
Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund
Awaken: A Tibetan Buddhist Journey toward Enlightenment, VMFA, Richmond, April 20-August 14, 2019; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, January 17 – November 29, 2020; Rubin Museum of Art, New York, March 12, 2021 – January 2, 2022
"Crowns of the Vajra Masters: Ritual Art of Nepal", Metropolitan Museum of Art. NY, December 16, 2017 - December 16, 2018.
"Look Here: Dazzle", VMFA, November 2, 2005 - January 29, 2006
"A Golden Legacy: Fifty Years of the Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund", VMFA, Deane gallery, April 2 - August 18, 2002.
"Mystic Visions: The Virginia Museum's Collection of Nepalese and Tibetan Art", VMFA July 6, 1992 - January 3, 1993.
"Nepal Where the Gods are Young", Asia House Gallery, New York, September 25 - November 23, 1975; Seattle Art Museum, December 7, 1975 - January 25, 1976; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, February 16 - April 4, 1976.
"Crowns of the Vajra Masters: Ritual Art of Nepal", Metropolitan Museum of Art. NY, December 16, 2017 - December 16, 2018.
"Look Here: Dazzle", VMFA, November 2, 2005 - January 29, 2006
"A Golden Legacy: Fifty Years of the Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund", VMFA, Deane gallery, April 2 - August 18, 2002.
"Mystic Visions: The Virginia Museum's Collection of Nepalese and Tibetan Art", VMFA July 6, 1992 - January 3, 1993.
"Nepal Where the Gods are Young", Asia House Gallery, New York, September 25 - November 23, 1975; Seattle Art Museum, December 7, 1975 - January 25, 1976; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, February 16 - April 4, 1976.
By May 1972, Dr. Mary Shepherd Slusser [1918 – 2017]; [1] purchased by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), accessioned into VMFA collection in March of 1984. [2]
[1] According to a page in Slusser’s personal notebook, the crown was at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) for restoration, with date of May 20, 1972. In same document, there is a note that the work was later consigned to Robert Ellsworth, New York in July of 1983. In a letter dated November 22, 1983, from Slusser to VMFA curator Joseph Dye, Slusser stated that she should have “the crown back in her possession” (from New York) before formal discussions of a possible purchase, so the museum could acquire it directly from Mrs. Slusser in 1984.
[2] Accessioned March 21, 1984. Information in VMFA Curatorial and Registration files.
[1] According to a page in Slusser’s personal notebook, the crown was at the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) for restoration, with date of May 20, 1972. In same document, there is a note that the work was later consigned to Robert Ellsworth, New York in July of 1983. In a letter dated November 22, 1983, from Slusser to VMFA curator Joseph Dye, Slusser stated that she should have “the crown back in her possession” (from New York) before formal discussions of a possible purchase, so the museum could acquire it directly from Mrs. Slusser in 1984.
[2] Accessioned March 21, 1984. Information in VMFA Curatorial and Registration files.
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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