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Fire ritual at the Svaymabhū Caitya
Nepalese
About 1718
Object Place: Nepal
Medium/Technique
Distemper on cotton
Dimensions
103.5 x 73.5 cm (40 3/4 x 28 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Marianne Brimmer Fund
Accession Number21.1659
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPaintings
DescriptionPainting with no borders, possibly originally in paubha (scroll painting) format.
Painting commemorating a fire ritual (homa) at the Svaymabhū caitya (stupa) commemorating. A date at the bottom, December 1, 1718, may be the date of the ritual. Below the caitya are depicted the officiating Vajracarya priest with his wife. The priest wears the characteristic priestly crown used in this tradition. He makes offerings into a small fire.
Running from the top of the caitya to the bottom left is a long white streamer. While the exact nature of the ritual this painting commemorates is unknown, it was possibly a ritual offering of a new streamer (pennant) attached to the caitya's top.
Much of the painting has been lost or is no longer legible due to abrasion.
Painting commemorating a fire ritual (homa) at the Svaymabhū caitya (stupa) commemorating. A date at the bottom, December 1, 1718, may be the date of the ritual. Below the caitya are depicted the officiating Vajracarya priest with his wife. The priest wears the characteristic priestly crown used in this tradition. He makes offerings into a small fire.
Running from the top of the caitya to the bottom left is a long white streamer. While the exact nature of the ritual this painting commemorates is unknown, it was possibly a ritual offering of a new streamer (pennant) attached to the caitya's top.
Much of the painting has been lost or is no longer legible due to abrasion.
InscriptionsOn the obverse, in the white margin at the bottom of the painting: a brief inscription:
śreyo 'stu :ll samvat 839 mā(rg)gaśila śukra 9
Translation: "the ninth day of the bright half of the month Margśīrṣa of the year 839"
śreyo 'stu :ll samvat 839 mā(rg)gaśila śukra 9
Translation: "the ninth day of the bright half of the month Margśīrṣa of the year 839"
Provenance1921, purchased by Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (b. 1887 - d. 1947) for the MFA. (Accession date: August 4, 1921)