Hevajra with the Footprints of the Kagyu Patriarch Tashipel
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The master Tashipel (1142–1210) impressed his footprints onto a piece of silk that, in turn, was affixed to this painting, giving it great power. This practice followed a long relic tradition going back to traces of the Buddha’s footprints. A student would have requested the footprints, which were then juxtaposed with the Vajrayana deity Hevajra. In this guru yoga practice, the teacher and deity are an interchangeable focus for tantric practice. Surviving north Indian Pala motifs, such as in the jewelry and stance of Hevajra, support an early date for this work, as does the fact that Tashipel was alive, serving as the first abbot of Taklung monastery, when the footprints were made.
Artwork Details
- Title: Hevajra with the Footprints of the Kagyu Patriarch Tashipel
- Date: 1180–1210
- Culture: Tibet, Taklung
- Medium: Mineral pigments and gold on silk and cotton
- Dimensions: H. 25 in. (63.5 cm); W. 19 in. (48.3 cm)
Framed dimensions: H. 33 in. (83.8 cm); W. 26 1/2 in. (67.3 cm); Est. weight 19 lbs. (8.6 kg) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Lent by the Michael J. and Beata McCormick Collection
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art