Tantra: Enlightenment to Revolution

British Museum, London

NOW CLOSED

A woman visiting two Nath yoginis (detail; c. 1750), Mughal, North India. Photo: © The Trustees of the British Museum

This display of more than 100 works argues that the ancient philosophy of tantra – which originated in India in the sixth century – has been a force for political and sexual transgression. Depictions of goddesses defying gender norms sit alongside material revealing tantra’s impact on counterculture. Find out more from the British Museum’s website.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here

An early ‘Tantra’ from Nepal.

An early ‘Tantra’ from Nepal. Photo: © The Syndics of Cambridge University Library

Raktayamari in Union with Vajravetali (16th–17th century), Tibet. Photo: © The Trustees of the British Museum

A woman visiting two Nath yoginis (c. 1750), Mughal, North India.

A woman visiting two Nath yoginis (c. 1750), Mughal, North India. Photo: © The Trustees of the British Museum

Untitled (1970s), Ghulam Rasool Santosh.

Untitled (1970s), Ghulam Rasool Santosh. Photo: © The Trustees of the British Museum

Housewives with Steak-knives (1984–85), Sutapa Biswas. © Sutapa Biswas; all rights reserved, DACS 2019