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Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThe rug features a vibrant red field dominated by two pale, ochre-colored flayed human figures. The figures are splayed with their arms raised and legs extended, displaying exposed rib cages and anatomical musculature. Their heads, rendered in a wrathful tantric style, face outward toward the short ends of the rug, while their bodies meet in the center. The border is composed of a repetitive sequence of skulls and wrathful deities rendered in shades of blue, orange, and pale yellow against a muted background. The overall composition is symmetrical, emphasizing a dualistic or inverted iconography typical of tantric ritual textiles used in meditative or chthonic contexts.
This piece relates to Tibetan Buddhist tantric iconography, specifically the practice of 'chöd' or wrathful deity meditation, where the flaying of the ego is represented through imagery of skeletons and flayed skins (often associated with the dakinis or protectors like Mahakala). Such textiles were typically used as ritual seats during Vajrayana meditative retreats involving the transformation of consciousness through exposure to the macabre.
The Chöd tradition (Machig Labdrön)
The imagery of flaying and wrathful figures is central to Chöd ritual practice, which involves the ritual offering of one's own body to overcome ego and attachment.
Object
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Wool, cotton, and dye
65 1/2 × 32 in. (166.4 × 81.3 cm)
ritual-object
Digital Source
The Metropolitan Museum of Art · CC0 1.0
3840 × 1886 px
April 16, 2026
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 18, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.