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A GILT COPPER ALLOY VAJRACHARYA CROWN This ritual crown would have been worn by a Newari Buddhist priest,
NEPAL, CIRCA 18TH CENTURY called a vajracharya (‘master of the vajra’), during ritual practice
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61905 or while officiating ceremonies. The crown’s Buddhas of the Five
10 5/8 in. (27 cm) high Directions and its axis mundial vajra finial, Pal notes, “...add a cosmic
dimension to the crown; by wearing it the priest himself becomes
$12,000 - 16,000 homologized with the cosmic principle or divine essence.” (Art of
the Himalayas, New York, 1991, p.49). Compare with a closely
尼泊爾 約十八世紀 銅鎏金金剛法師冠 related crown in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Guy, Indian Temple
Sculpture, London, 2018, p.59. pl.59), and another, dated 1864, in
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (36.25.2979).
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