Buddhist goddess Tara,
Nepal or Tibet, circa 1300. Image courtesy of the Norton Simon
Museum.
PASADENA, CALIF. - ": Sacred Images from Tibet, Nepal and
Northern India," on view at the Norton Simon Museum to October
27, presents 15 masterpieces from the museum's world-renowned
permanent collection of Asian art.
The exhibition features sculpture, paintings and book covers. On
view are beautiful examples of Himalayan gilded sculptures that
exhibit graceful posture and sensuous modeling. Visitors can see
a Fourteenth Century gilt bronze sculpture of the Buddhist
goddess "Tara" - the largest Himalayan bronze in the collection.
Wearing a diaphanous garment and adorned with jewelry inset with
semiprecious and colored stones, Tara is the embodiment of
feminine grace and compassion.
Another notable sculpture presented in the exhibition is the
seated "Indra," a gilt bronze created in Nepal in the Thirteenth
Century. The king of the gods in Indian mythology, Indra, is
depicted in a pose of ease and graceful elegance, reflecting the
dignity and majesty of his position. In addition to this royal
posture, this work includes the distinctive attribute of a
horizontal third eye on his head and a tiara.
Examples of works from northern India are also included.
Presented together on one pedestal are modern reproductions of
the famous Tenth Century ensemble of "Shiva," "Parvati" and
"Nandi" found in the Gaurisamkara Temple in the Indian state of
Himachal Pradesh.
The museum is on the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado
Boulevards and is open every day except Tuesday, from noon to 6
pm, and noon to 9 pm on Friday. Admission is $6. For information,
626-449-6840 or nortonsimon.org.
