Welcome toWelcome to
an Online Exhibit of
Drilbu (Ghanta, Bell) & Dorje (Vajra)
for information on these Buddhist Vajrayana objects, visit:
(courtesy The Huntington Archive)
The Dorje at Swayambhunath Stupa, Nepal
Dorje Petroglyphs from upper Tibet, age unknown. Courtesy of "Images of Lost Civilizations" by John Vincent Bellezza
Vajrapani - India, Gupta Period 6th century (collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Standing Vajrapani - India (Bihar, Nalanda) Pala Period 8th-9th century (collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
see also: "Note on Vajrapani-Indra" by Sten Konow from Acta Orientalia 1930
9th Century
Five-pronged Kongo Bell China, Tang Dynasty, 9th Century (Kyo'ogokoku-ji Temple) courtesy Kyoto National Museum
10th Century
Eight Arm Tara - India, Bihar, Pala Period 10th Century (collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Kashmiri, or Samyadora style Vajra, India or Western Tibet, worn almost completely smooth from a millenium of use
other side, showing
later prong replacement and turquoise insert
a close-up of the above, showing the hollow center, a marvel of lost-wax process bronze casting
Central or Eastern Java c. 10th Century (collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Java - 8th-10th Century, Gold Ring (collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
11th Century
Mahakala - India, Bihar, Pala Period 11th-12th Century (collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Mahakala holding a mace, but clearly showing the characteristic vajra-like prongs
courtesy
of Yantra Oriental Antiques #893
Gyanyin - Liao Dynasty (916-1125) Northern Shanxi or Hebei Province (collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
12th Century
Five-pronged Kongo Vajra Heian Period, 12th Century (Private Collection) courtesy Kyoto National Museum
Five-pronged Kongo Vajra Kamakura Period, 12th Century (Private Collection) courtesy Kyoto National Museum
Five types of Kongo Bells Heian Period, 12th Century (Sonei-ji Temple) courtesy Kyoto National Museum
13th century
13th c Khmer height 17.2cm width 8.1cm-
courtesy of Jewel
of the Lotus
13th c Khmer
- courtesy of Jewel
of the Lotus
Eastern Javanese
Period 13th-14th Century (collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Halberd Head with Nagas and Blades on Tortoise - Eastern Java Period, 13th Century (collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) reminding of the origins of the vajra as a weapon
Single-pronged Kongo Vajra Kamakura Period, 13th Century (Shoshuraigo-ji
Temple) courtesy Kyoto
National Museum
Three-pronged Kongo Vajra Kamakura Period, 13th Century (Tofuku-ji Temple) courtesy Kyoto National Museum
Korea, Koryo Dynasty (918-1392)
Korea, Koryo Dynasty (918-1392)
Korea, Koryo Dynasty (918-1392)
14th Century
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #882
China, Yuan
Dynasty - courtesy of Marcel Nies
Japan, Kamakura period - Bell and Sword Hilt
15th Century
Ritual Fire Spoon - Tibet 1403-1424 (collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
16th Century
courtesy
of Jewel of the
Lotus
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #873
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #879
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #880
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #881
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #884
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #885
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #886
courtesy of Yantra Oriental Antiques
#892
17th Century
courtesy
of Potala
World
courtesy
of Yantra Oriental Antiques #861
courtesy
of Yantra Oriental Antiques#863
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #866
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #867
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #868
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #870
courtesy
of Yantra Oriental Antiques#874
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #875
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #877
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #878
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #883
18th Century
courtesy
of Yantra Oriental Antiques #859
courtesy
of Yantra Oriental Antiques #862
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #869
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #871
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #894
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques#895
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #896
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques#897
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques#898
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #899
courtesy of
Yantra Oriental Antiques #903
19th Century
courtesy of Treasures
Gallery
courtesy of Treasures
Gallery
courtesy of Treasures
Gallery
courtesy of Treasures
Gallery
20th Century
Mongolia
Painting by Alex Grey
creating a dorje to
adorn the roof of Manjushri Buddhist Center, U.K. - see a sequence of pictures here
Age Unknown
Chinese, Ming
Dynasty
This page maintained by Dante Rosati
