The Metropolitan Museum: A Zoo of Animal-Related Art
The most popular tantric manifestation of Manjushri is Vajrabhairava.
Here, he has a buffalo head, holds an array of weapons, and tramples on birds, dogs, and Hindu gods
In this form, he is sometimes called Yamantaka, or the defeater of death, a deity that ends the cycle of rebirth and provides a path to nirvana.
He frightens away egotism and selfishness - the root of suffering - and in this true form reveals the awesome and terrifying nature of enlightenment.
Pictorial Carpet
This silk carpet combines an unusually dense weave for a Persian carpet, with a composition inspired by Flemish tapestry.
While the pictorial scene can be traced to seventeenth-century Europe, the technique and execution point to the Safavid court as the source of patronage and production.
It is possible that such carpets were woven in Iran for export or intended as diplomatic gifts.
The smaller scale of the buildings suggests the influence of European perspective.
The border compartments, whose arrangement is also repeated symmetrically, show figures in European dress, flower vases, and reclining deer.