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Friday, March 29, 2024


Exhibition Public - USA & Canada

Ritual Offerings in Tibetan Art

Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd.,
Los Angeles, California, USA
Sep 14, 2014 To Sep 14, 2015


Detail: Skullcups, thunderbolts, flaying knives, conch shells, and many other evocative works of art in this exhibition were created for use during esoteric ceremonies performed to obtain mundane blessings, such as those to attain wealth or avert calamities, or to overcome negative spiritual forces hindering enlightenment. Examples include Tibetan religious paintings (thangka), illuminated manuscripts, and furniture, all depicting myriad ritual objects and symbolic offerings to the Buddhist protective deities known as the dharmapala, who are believed to defend and foster Buddhism.

The selection of works on view also highlights special offering cabinets (torgam) that protect offering cakes (torma) made of yak butter and roasted barley flour dough. Such cabinets are embellished with auspicious symbols and gruesome motifs emblematic of the particular protective deity being invoked.

Phone No.: 323 857-6000
Contact Email: [email protected]
Site URL: http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/ritual-offerings-tibetan-art

Offering Cabinet (<i>Torgam</i>) with Fierce Deity or Red Mahakala
Offering Cabinet (Torgam) with Fierce Deity or Red Mahakala
Tibet
c. 19th-20th century
wood with mineral pigments
Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, Gift of Ruth Sutherlin Hayward and Robert W. Hayward as an offering to Mahakala and other protectors of Tibetan Buddhism, M.2006.62.2. © Museum Associates/LACMA 2014

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