Charnel grounds, in ancient India, were important locations for sadhanas or ritual activities relating to various antinomian and esoteric religious traditions, particularly those influenced by the tantric practices such as Shaivism and Vajrayana Buddhism. The charnel grounds signify an archetypal liminality that figures prominently in literature, religion, and art.

The present shrine depicts a cremation scene in a charnel ground surrounded by manifestations of fierce deities. In the foreground, a barking dog represents the mount of Bhairava, the fierce emanation of Shiva. Flanking the central figure of the dog are a pair of birds and coiled snakes, animals that are typically associated with the charnel grounds and associated rituals. The inclusion of both a stupa and a linga, found at each side of the bronze, demonstrates the uniquely syncretised religious tradition of Nepal, where objects of religious devotion are venerated by both Buddhists and Shaivites. Five deities with multiple faces are seated on the corners of the shrine, each holding a ritual implement in their left hand and raising the index finger of their right hand to the mouth in a gesture implying silence (maunavrata).

In Nepal: Where the Gods are Young, Pal has suggested that these deities likely signify the five forms of Shiva, equated with the five elements (panchabhuta). (For further reading, see P. Pal, Nepal: Where the Gods are Young, New York, 1975, cat. 64.) The four posts rising from the top of the deities’ heads suggest that there would have been a roof supported over the shrine. Compare the subject and iconography of the present work with a similar copper shrine of Bhairava sold at Sotheby’s Paris, 16 June 2022, lot 122.