Unknown
The Bon Meditational Deity Sherab Chamma12th-13th century

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No image

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: The Bon Meditational Deity Sherab Chamma
Place Made: Western Tibet
Date Made: 12th-13th century
Medium: Brass
Dimensions: 7 3/4 x 2 3/4 x 1 7/8 in. (19.7 x 6.99 x 4.76 cm)
Credit Line: Julian C. Wright Bequest
Accession Number: M.79.152.179
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: The Yungdrung (Eternal) Bon religion is the indigenous spiritual tradition of the western Himalayan regions that is believed by its followers to have been founded by Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche some 8,000–18,000 years ago in the kingdom of Zhangzhung. It was located in Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring, in the present-day Tibet Autonomous Region, with Mount Kailash as its center. The kingdom flourished in circa 500 BCE–625 CE and predates the arrival of Buddhism in the 7th century when it was conquered by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo (r. 618–649). Bon originally consisted of animistic and shamanistic rituals focused on nature spirits and the afterlife but evolved through intense interaction with Buddhism into a sophisticated, organized monastic system.

This is a rare early standing representation of Sherab Chamma (Loving Mother of Wisdom). Also known as Satrig Ersang in the Zhangzhung language, she is the principal Bon goddess. She is also a form of Satrig Ersang of the Four Transcendent Lords (Four Sugatas) of the Bon religion. Sherab Chamma is the embodiment of wisdom and is peaceful in appearance. When painted, she is either yellow, orange, or white in color. She is crowned, ornamented, wears a flowered dhoti, and has two arms. In her right hand, she holds a vase containing the elixir of immortality (amrita) near her heart. In her upraised left hand, she holds a mirror symbolic of wisdom. See Himalayan Art Resources, no. 85747, https://www.himalayanart.org/items/85747.

See also M.83.191.
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Tibet. Los Angeles; Berkeley, CA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1983.
Reedy, Chandra L. Himalayan Bronzes: Technology, Style and Choices. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1997.
Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Tibet. Expanded edition. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1990.

Unknown
The Bon Meditational Deity Sherab Chamma12th-13th century

Not on view

No image

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: The Bon Meditational Deity Sherab Chamma
Place Made: Western Tibet
Date Made: 12th-13th century
Medium: Brass
Dimensions: 7 3/4 x 2 3/4 x 1 7/8 in. (19.7 x 6.99 x 4.76 cm)
Credit Line: Julian C. Wright Bequest
Accession Number: M.79.152.179
Classification: Sculpture
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: The Yungdrung (Eternal) Bon religion is the indigenous spiritual tradition of the western Himalayan regions that is believed by its followers to have been founded by Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche some 8,000–18,000 years ago in the kingdom of Zhangzhung. It was located in Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring, in the present-day Tibet Autonomous Region, with Mount Kailash as its center. The kingdom flourished in circa 500 BCE–625 CE and predates the arrival of Buddhism in the 7th century when it was conquered by the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo (r. 618–649). Bon originally consisted of animistic and shamanistic rituals focused on nature spirits and the afterlife but evolved through intense interaction with Buddhism into a sophisticated, organized monastic system.

This is a rare early standing representation of Sherab Chamma (Loving Mother of Wisdom). Also known as Satrig Ersang in the Zhangzhung language, she is the principal Bon goddess. She is also a form of Satrig Ersang of the Four Transcendent Lords (Four Sugatas) of the Bon religion. Sherab Chamma is the embodiment of wisdom and is peaceful in appearance. When painted, she is either yellow, orange, or white in color. She is crowned, ornamented, wears a flowered dhoti, and has two arms. In her right hand, she holds a vase containing the elixir of immortality (amrita) near her heart. In her upraised left hand, she holds a mirror symbolic of wisdom. See Himalayan Art Resources, no. 85747, https://www.himalayanart.org/items/85747.

See also M.83.191.
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Tibet. Los Angeles; Berkeley, CA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1983.
Reedy, Chandra L. Himalayan Bronzes: Technology, Style and Choices. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1997.
Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Tibet. Expanded edition. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1990.