Cleveland Museum of Art
Ascetic Holding a Skull
- Date
- c. 500 CE
- Medium
- gilt bronze
- Culture
- China, Northern Wei dynasty (386-534)
- Department
- Chinese Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
The figure holding the skull has been identified as Mrgasirsa, who sought Buddha’s teaching on how to determine the karma and transmigration of the arhats. Mrgasirsa appears with Vasistha in some of the wall paintings of the Mogao grottoes in Dunhuang. This grimacing figure has a potbelly protruding between the hem of his short jacket and fringed skirt ( dhoti ).
The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.
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